The Sun and the Moon
by autumnsoliloquy
Summary: Everyone knew the story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia. But who really knew the whole story, which was definitely no fairytale? Now the true story of Ichigo and Rukia will be retold. AU since the end of HM arc
1. Chapter 1

**The Sun and the Moon**

Author: autumnsoliloquy (nahypochlorite)

Fandom: BLEACH

Pairing: Kurosaki Ichigo x Kuchiki Rukia

Warning: M

Status: WIP

Summary: Everyone knew the story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia. But who really knew the whole story, which was definitely no fairytale? Now the true story of Ichigo and Rukia will be retold. Set in the future after Aizen is long dead.

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**Author's Notes:**

BLEACH does not belong to me. The great Kubo Tite-sama owns everything. I am not in any way profiting monetarily from this fanfiction.

Because Bleach is full of a million characters, it is impossible to include all of them in this story. This piece will only be focusing on Ichigo and Rukia, with cameo appearances from various characters at significant points of the fic.

Some original characters in this story are created purely out of my imagination; any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Warning: This fic is extremely long and high in melodrama. READ: complicated, sometimes confusing plot which may never happen to the characters or to the manga, but I've tried my best to stick to canon evidence and keep them in character. Suspend your reality when reading it.

Includes heavy NC-17 content in future chapters. For the full version, go to nahypochlorite[dot]livejournal[dot]com.

This fic would be peppered throughout with basic Japanese words and phrases. This might be confusing, but I believe there are some key Japanese phrases when translated into English lose their feel with respect to the characters. E.g. Nothing beats Rukia's affectionate endearments such as "towakke" and "bakamono".

Other words:

_Demo _**but**

_Gomen (nasai), Sumanu _**(I'm) Sorry**

_Towakke, bakamono, ahou _**Idiot, bastard, stupid**

_-ossan _**Old man (Ichigo uses this suffix on Zangetsu)**

_Oyaji _**lit. Old Father (Ichigo calls Isshin this, instead of the more common **_**Otou-san**_**)**

_Oniichan, Nii-sama_ **Brother (affectionate), Brother (respectful)**

_-neesan _**Sister (Kon also calls Rukia this)**

_Okaasan _**Mother**

_Hai, Iie _**Yes, No**

_Arigatou (gozaimasu) _**Thank you**

_Nakama _**Comrade (more than mere acquaintances, strong camaraderie)**

_Onegai _**Please**

_Zanpakutou _**Soul-cutter, a shinigami's sword**

_-fukutaichou _**Lieutenant, vice-captain**

_-taichou _**Captain**

_Reishi _**spirit particles**

_Reiatsu _**spirit force, spirit pressure**

This story has been formulating and festering in my head for a long time since I first read the manga in 2006, but it's only been recently that I've decided to publish it. Please do take some time to give constructive criticism in your reviews, I'd really appreciate the effort! Enjoy!

* * *

_You are sunlight and I, moon  
Joined by the gods of fortune  
Midnight and high noon, sharing the sky  
We have been blessed, You and I_

_You are here like a mystery  
I'm from a world that's so different from all that you are  
How in the light of one night did we come so far?_

"**Sun and Moon" - **_**Miss Saigon**_

_**

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**_

**PART ONE**

**Prologue**

Everyone in Soul Society knew the story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia.

The whole Seireitei had complete knowledge of the story, from the Captain Commander right down to the students of the Shinigami Academy. Even the commonfolk in Rukongai was privy to gists of the tale – though the veracity of these bits and pieces questionable – and for the grimy, snotty children who lived in poverty in its worst districts, the story gave them hope that perhaps someday, they will lead an inspiring colourful life like that of the female lead. The official version can be found in old shinigami history books, for no other events had influenced the fate of Soul Society as much as this story did, ensuring that it will be remembered in ages to come, even when the spirit bodies of the protagonists had turned to ashes of reishi.

Everyone knew how it all started. That fateful day, when the blade of a zanpakutou pierced human heart, when a shinigami gave her powers to a mere human, a possibility so unheard of in Soul Society, so groundbreaking, would forever change destiny. Everyone also knew the tragic events that would transpire later. Even some humans knew a grander – albeit rather exaggerated – version, passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation in the form of Quincy bedtime stories.

Of course everyone knew the story. It was an epic story of chivalry, romance, camaraderie, human spirit and power. A hopeful story for the masses.

But the people who truly knew Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, those who were in and survived the events that occurred in between the well-known accounts written in the textbooks, the few spans of time so personal and significant yet considered so irrelevant compared to the bigger picture – they knew it was no perfect fairytale.

And now, the true story of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia will be retold.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Never before, he realized, had the moon looked so wonderful as it did that night, against the backdrop of a starless noir that is the night sky of Soul Society.

That realization only added to the already heavy burden in Kurosaki Ichigo's heart.

The evening was deathly still in the spacious cell where he had been held for the past few days. He had been immobilized due to the strong kidou spell that placed invisible binds around his arms and torso. Not that he wanted to move anyway; the festering wounds on his sides and back protested at the slightest motion. His tattered black hakama was still fresh with bloodstains from his previous battle, a stark reminder of the reason why he was there in the first place.

A reminder of the blood that stained his own hands.

Ichigo let go of the air in his lungs sharply. Even breathing was a painful necessary chore now. He closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards against the wall, as if to shut out the reality of the events that he cannot undo. His head throbbed wildly, and even in the darkness the horrible scenes of the past replayed themselves over and over in his mind.

Brown eyes shot open once more to gaze at the full moon again. Only a sliver of moonlight that fell through the tall window of the Shrine of Penitence illuminated the dark cell. Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw a familiar figure across the colossal room where his zanpakutou leaned against the wall.

"Zangetsu… Ossan…"

In the darkness, it was difficult to make out the black-robed figure but the distinctive patterns of his zanpakutou-spirit's robes confirmed to him that it was indeed Zangetsu. Sensing such a familiar reiatsu after such a long time of solitude lifted his spirits in a manner that he thought would be impossible at that point of time.

From afar Zangetsu could tell that Ichigo had only just detected his presence. That disappointed him, for all this while, ever since the day the shinigami – is that what the boy is, still? – was thrown into this cell, Zangetsu had always been here in this dark desolate room with him. Zangetsu could also tell from the boy's injuries that Ichigo might not make it through this ordeal.

He had never seen the boy in a worse shape than now. His spirit was defeated, he carried an even greater burden of guilt on his shoulders, and even in the pitch darkness, Zangetsu could see the swirls of black that tainted the whites of his sclera. The boy was badly wounded from the previous fight, and the cell reeked of blood and grime – Soul Society obviously felt that he was too dangerous for someone to be sent to treat him or to even clean the place regularly – and something else entirely sinister. Zangetsu was not sure if the boy would die from hunger even before his execution takes place within two days.

When his zanpakutou-spirit did not respond after what seemed like eternity had gone by, Ichigo knew that even his zanpakutou-spirit was repulsed by him. Of course, Zangetsu would disapprove of his actions. Even Ichigo himself reviled his own actions and his inability to prevent them. Ichigo looked away in shame to stare at the beaming moon again, anywhere else instead of seeing the disappointment etched in Zangetsu's dark black eyes.

So this was how Rukia felt, being in this same cell an eternity ago.

_Rukia._ He wondered where she was right now. Ichigo knew deep inside that she probably detested him for the same reasons Zangetsu and everyone else did. Deep in his heart, despite the futility of it all, he had hoped to catch a glimpse of her dark hair outside his cell, or at least to feel her comforting reiatsu assail his senses once more. Tucked away in a small corner of the recesses of his dark heart was the hope that she still held the unwavering faith in him until now. He scoffed inwardly at the absurdity of his heart's desires. How could he even expect for her to believe in him, after all that had happened? The events of their last meeting were still vivid in his mind, and he could not erase the memory of that look of horror in her deep violet eyes. That look of disappointment with the man whom she placed her whole faith in.

"Ichigo." A low familiar voice finally broke the silence of the night.

"What is your plan?"

Slowly, the boy fixed his gaze back on Zangetsu. To the zanpakutou-spirit, Ichigo suddenly looked like the lost, helpless substitute-shinigami that he once was, not too long ago, not knowing his own zanpakutou's name and still holding the unrealistic ideals expected of a young man his age. The boy's voice was raspy from thirst and defeat. "Nothing, Ossan."

"Nothing."

From that single word, Zangetsu knew it was hopeless.

It had been raining again in his world, and the storm showed no signs of letting up.

It was futile.

Abarai Renji could not find Rukia anywhere. The female shinigami had run off as soon as he had told her about the final verdict agreed upon by the temporary Central 46.

"Immediate execution, Rukia. Two days. New method developed by the Technological Department, seeing that the Soukyoku had been destroyed by that idiot. The Central 46 said the decision is final and intervention from anyone will not change that fact."

Truth be told, Renji was prepared for the black-haired petite shinigami to take the news badly. Personally he felt that the verdict was an injustice towards everything that Ichigo had sacrificed for Soul Society, and if he could, he would have it another way. Upon hearing his words, Rukia's face became placid and drained of colour, and Renji expected his old-time friend to break down. He knew very well with a pang of sadness, what Kurosaki Ichigo meant to Kuchiki Rukia.

But no, she did not break down and cry. "Arigatou, Renji," was all she said, then she took off to Kami-sama-knows-where like the wind, leaving Renji in utter shock and confusion.

Knowing Rukia, Renji knows she will do something. She would not sit back and watch the most important person in her life die, even though admitting that fact brought back stabs of regret and sadness to Renji's heart once again. But as much as he hate to admit it, he had lost rightly and fairly to the orange-haired man, who had been more of a pillar of strength to Rukia than Renji had ever been for his childhood friend.

But right now, Renji was worried that Rukia will do something stupid, like make a break for the Shrine of Penitence and take Ichigo away herself, which is perfectly within Rukia's capability despite her usual level-headedness. After all, Ichigo did the same thing for her once too, not an eternity ago. And either shinigami had been known to be as stubborn as the other. But Renji consoled himself with the fact that Rukia is oftentimes more logical than the brash younger shinigami, so she would know that saving Ichigo all by herself was close to impossible.

After searching all over Seireitei, Renji finally found her in the Kuchiki manor. And indeed, as if proving his sentiments right, she had done something stupid.

Rukia knelt crumpled at the feet of the older Kuchiki, her long fringe obscuring her tear-stained face. Looming above her, the placid man merely looked down at her with expressionless eyes but his reiatsu flickered with what Renji sensed like simmering rage.

"Nii-sama, I beg of you."

Her beseeching plea betrayed desperation and need. "Onegai, Nii-sama, please… Please save Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"What the hell is she doing?" was all Renji could think to himself, as he ran towards her and pealed her off the wooden floor forcefully.

"Let go, Renji!" snarled Rukia as she resisted his grip on her wrists and pushed him away, but his hold on her was too strong. The taichou stared back at the mess that was his adopted sister, her face glistening with tears and violet eyes gazing at him with such a pleading look. For a moment, he wondered at the ironic similarity of the situation to one that had happened decades ago.

"_Byakuya-sama, onegai… Please find my sister… Please save Rukia!"_

The pleading look in the violet eyes of his beloved wife had held then the exact desperation reflected in her sister's eyes at this very moment.

"Is that man so important to you… that you are in such a pathetic state shameful of a Kuchiki?"

The petite shinigami went rigid, her resistance to Renji's grasp ceased upon hearing the taichou's cold question. Renji could tell from the flicker in her reiatsu that this was something she had not even pondered upon before. _Idiot. Unbelievable. After all this time, the idiot still has not reconciled with her own feelings._

Renji was unsure of what he should do. The older Kuchiki regarded Rukia with an intense stare that often scared the hell out of him. Surely, this can only end in trouble. However, before he could do something, Rukia escaped his grasp and fell prostrate once more on the ground, this time clutching the seams of her adoptive brother's hakama.

"Nii-sama, gomen nasai. Demo… Onegai…"

Her pleading cry was so soft Renji could almost not hear it. Rukia's behavior surprised him. Such an action… it was so unlike Rukia to breach the appropriate conduct expected of her as a Kuchiki noble. And yet… and yet, Renji should have expected this.

Kuchiki Byakuya stared down in horror at the girl who now clutched at his hakama like a lifeline. Ever since he adopted Rukia into the Kuchiki household almost ten years ago, the girl had behaved exactly as she was instructed to. Never once had she questioned or flouted the unspoken rules of nobility, save for that fateful day in which she committed a crime that almost cost her life, which not so coincidentally too had something to do with the orange-haired man for whom Rukia now discarded all noble propriety. Not once since her adoption had Rukia ever pleaded with her brother to give her anything, not even the affection she craved for in a family. He knew his adopted sister well enough to understand what this all meant. Heaving a quiet sigh, the sixth division captain looked away and closed his eyes in resignation.

"The decision is final, Rukia. There is nothing anyone can do. Not even I, if I even desired to, have the power to get that man out of this predicament." And with that, he caught hold of his sister's wrists, removed his hakama from their tight clutches and walked back to his quarters, his footsteps weighing forebodingly on the creaking birch floorboards.

Rukia remained motionless from her kneeling position. Renji knew that the Kuchiki-taichou had been her last hope. _Looks like I have no other choice._

"Rukia."

If the raven-haired shinigami had heard him, she gave no indication that she did. Renji knew it was useless to tell Rukia to stay back and rest while he tried to do something, _anything._ "Don't worry, Rukia. We'll figure out a way, somehow."

And with that, Renji left her alone.

Later that day, the servants of the Kuchiki manor found Kuchiki Rukia an unconscious heap on the floor, having passed out from kneeling on the same spot for the rest of the day.

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Please give constructive criticisms! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 2**

Footsteps.

He heard footsteps outside his cell. He could not be mistaken. The nights up in the Shrine of Penitence were so dead silent that he could not fail to detect the rhythmic sound of footsteps getting louder as the person making them approached nearer.

_Rukia?_

No, it couldn't be her. Ichigo chided himself for even giving himself such hopes. How could he even hope to see her again? As much as his heart desired it, he was not completely sure if he was ready to face his own demons.

Suddenly, the sounds he heard just a moment ago stopped. Had he been imagining them? Perhaps he had. Sometimes he would pass out from hunger, and he would dream of days long gone, confusing them with reality. The scenes from the past tucked away in the recesses of his mind would unravel once again, like an old black-and-white roll of film, carrying with them the carefree emotions he enjoyed back then in those moments. He remembered the way the dim streetlamps casted their shadows on the midnight asphalt, her strong convicted voice as she rambled on and on something along the lines of "towakke" and "be more careful next time", the sound of silence as the night stretched in the space between his bed and his closet door. Strangely, his most vivid recollections were not their time together in battle at Hueco Mundo, but instead those little moments when his world simply consisted of him and Rukia in his hometown Karakura – school in the afternoon, shinigami business in the evening. But most of all, he often recalled the look in her eyes in those times when she regarded him directly, her violet eyes reassuring him her complete faith and trust. It always made him feel like he could do anything he desired in the world.

He could hear the footsteps again. It was getting louder now, and Ichigo could not recognize the reiatsu of whoever it was approaching. The cell had been designed to block reiatsu to prevent the prisoner within from any attempts to break free. Furthermore, hunger and thirst over the few days in detention had drained him of the energy to even try and decipher the identity of his unexpected visitor. Finally, the footsteps ceased. Ichigo stared at the big heavy metal door through half-lidded eyes. He barely even had enough strength to remain conscious. Even without sensing reiatsu, he knew that his visitor stood on the other side of that door.

There was a muffled exchange of conversation, and then silence. For a moment, Ichigo thought whoever it was probably was not a visitor after all. Perhaps Soul Society was just checking on him to see if he was already dead and saved them the trouble. Or maybe they decided it was better if they eradicated a serious threat to Soul Society as early as possible. An incantation was spoken, breaking the silence and through his clouded thoughts, and then there was a sharp metallic sound of the lock hitting the ground.

A small hatch at the bottom of the door was brusquely opened by the same guards who brought Ichigo into the cell days ago. "—we still advise you to be careful nonetheless, fukutaichou." Ichigo did not need to hear the guard's warning to know the identity of the red-haired visitor sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed outside the cell.

"That will be all. You may leave."

The guards seemed to regard the vice captain briefly with suspicion. Abarai Renji could not blame them. The Central 46 had probably considered all possibilities of escape the prisoner in the cell could have, and some of them involved intervention from certain comrade shinigamis, which of course included himself. He was finally left alone outside the cell, but as if to prove his theory, the guards stationed themselves insconspicuously a good five metres away from where he sat.

Renji focused his attention back to the man now being held captive in the cell. It was completely dark inside, save for the dim illumination provided by the full moon outside. Even still, Renji could tell that Ichigo was in a bad shape. He was suddenly thankful that the Kuchiki-taichou had requested for an order that banned Rukia from ever coming near Kurosaki Ichigo's cell.

"Yo, Renji," the other man's words sliced through the silence of the night, the characteristic sloppy smirk on his face the only indication that this defeated, lifeless man was indeed Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Ichigo…" Renji was rather taken aback; he did not know why. Perhaps he expected something else, anything besides a smile from a man on the death row. "Daijoubu ka?"

Ichigo stared back at him for a moment, that smirk still frozen on his blood-streaked face, then the man closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the wall. "Do I look all right to you at all, idiot?"

To that question he could find no appropriate answer. Renji pondered again on the reason why he came to visit in the first place. Rukia's actions earlier in the day almost made him act on the impulse to help Ichigo break out of his cell, but his calmer and more logical mind reminded him afterwards that he needed to think of a better, more rational solution. He thought that maybe a conversation with Ichigo would help him come up with something, but looking at the resigned man across the cell, it felt almost hopeless and impossible.

Renji recognized the kidou binds that held the orange-haired man immobilized. He was surprised that Soul Society felt the need for such advanced security to keep the prisoner down, especially given the injured state Ichigo was now in. But when he remembered the events of that night, the monster that committed all those crimes, the bloodshed that occurred, the shivers that ran down his spine made him think that it was a good decision for Soul Society to take. He almost could not believe that that monster was the same man looking so helpless across the dark cell.

In his reverie, he had not noticed the silence stretch out between the two of them. The other man was now gazing at the full moon, the expression on his face hidden from Renji's view. "Is she… all right?"

Renji knew very well who he was referring to. "Yeah, she is."

When silence was the only response he got, Renji continued, "but she won't be able to visit you for now."

Renji closed his eyes. This man, this broken man had killed many people. This monster deserved to die. But this man, Kurosaki Ichigo… he was also a friend. His comrade. An honourable shinigami who lived by his ideals. An important man to Rukia.

"Renji."

He looked up at the other shinigami still gazing at the bright orb in the night sky. "Will you do me a favour and make sure…" Ichigo hesitated for a while, then he turned to face Renji, the determined expression on his face reminding him of their very first battle in which Renji had lost.

Renji gave a grunt of acknowledgement. He sure did not need the idiot telling him what to do. "I do that even when you're around, idiot."

A look of understanding was shared between the two men, and then finally one of the guards came. "Visiting time is over, Abarai-fukutaichou. You will have to leave the premises now."

Renji gave his friend one last glance. "Arigatou, Renji."

Finally, the hatch was closed.

As the guards led him down the steps of the Shrine, disappointment weighed heavily on Renji's heart. He knew that once more, he had failed Rukia again.

* * *

He must be dreaming.

Of course he had to be dreaming. He knew that. What else could it be but a dream, if right now, at this very moment, the person whom he would like to see the most in these desperate times sat cross-legged in front of him, rambling on blithely about something while ploughing her way into her teppanyaki dinner in that messy way she always does, often getting her into a fight with him over the cleanliness of his bedroom floor.

This is not real, for the waif-like figure would definitely not appear in this dark musky cell, right now – but wait! The background changed and the darkness and emptiness of the cell transformed into the familiar shapes and lively colours of his bedroom in Karakura. Ichigo stared down in disbelief at his own clothes. His own tattered and dirty black kimono was now replaced by his casual jeans and a T-shirt with bunny prints, which he remembered Rukia had acquired previously as a free give-away during some Chappy convention. He had barely even realized that suddenly, in place of his own dark feelings moments ago were now familiar feelings he had once experienced at this exact moment, a lifetime ago.

The petite shinigami now held a look of annoyance obviously directed at the only other person in the room. "Ichigo, are you even listening to me?"

What was she talking about? He had been too preoccupied with the incredulity of the situation that he had not been paying attention. "Heck if I could remember," was all he thought, and merely gave a non-committal grunt. For that response he got a whack on the head from the raven-haired girl.

"Towakke."

It was strange. Ichigo knew that this was a dream and yet, the Ichigo that existed then at this memory was experiencing it as if it was all in real-time. "As I was saying," Rukia's voice jolted him back into the conversation again.

"You shouldn't be making your sisters worry about you all the time," Rukia said as she finished off the last bits of rice in her bowl. "Or your friends, for that matter. Disappearing away like nobody's business like that… you should be more responsible, you idiot. I may be able to tolerate your foul mood but the others –", she gulped down a glass of water, "—you really should be more considerate, Ichigo."

Ichigo made no response to her admonition. He laid his back on the floor and placed his hands on the back of his head, staring quietly at the ceiling. He understood why Rukia was worried. There were times when he could clearly hear his hollow's voice, that screechy voice which sounded like nails across a blackboard, vividly in his head, disconcerting him. And in those times, he would steal away into the night and disappear for a day, even two, trying to block out that voice in contemplative solitude. But he also knew that Rukia understood the difficulty he was going through right now.

The female shinigami set down the empty bowl unceremoniously on the low table and leaned her back against the closet door in gastronomical satisfaction. "Ichigo, you…"

She sighed, the sound grabbing his attention. Rukia now had her eyes closed in contemplation. "You'll be fine."

Ichigo considered her words thoughtfully. "Whatever it is you're thinking… That thing, you…" This time, the large violet orbs of her eyes regarded him fiercely with something he could not decipher, but whatever it was strengthened his resolve. "You will defeat it, Ichigo."

"Everything will be all right."

"_Everything will be all right."_ Her words rang over and over again in his head like a broken record. Then suddenly, his bedroom disappeared into the darkness of the cold filthy cell, his clothes returned to their shabby state, and the petite figure in front of him gave him one last smile before slowly fading into the nothingness.

"_Everything will be all right, Ichigo."_

"Rukia!" he shouted to the silence of the night.

The screamed word echoed against the metallic walls of the spacious room. His eyes shot open, still readjusting themselves to the vast expanse of the darkness. Beads of cold sweat dripped down his face, his breathing ragged.

Of course, he had been dreaming.

A noise outside his cell had awoken him up from his slumber. He could hear the muffled conversations as the door was being unlocked. Ichigo gazed at the Soul Society sky, which was no longer black but suffused with oranges and reds; the dawn sky was beautiful but he could not find it in himself to appreciate it. His heart thumped vigorously. He knew that the last day of his life had finally come.

"_Everything will be all right, Ichigo."_

He did not want to die.

He still had a lot of things he wanted to do. He wanted to be doctor someday, just like his father, although he had never admitted that to anyone, much less to his old man, for he knew he would hear no end from his lunatic of a father if he ever did. He wanted to visit America too, one day, perhaps with Rukia, and they would eat hamburgers and he could take her to the biggest Chappy convention in the world there. He wanted to tell her someday, one day he will, his deepest feelings – but not like in that sappy melodramatic way they do in the shoujo mangas the female shinigami read.

He might not be able to admit it to her but…

He wanted to live the rest of eternity with her.

"It's time."

As the guards led him out of his cell for the first time in weeks, sunlight falling on the walls of the shrine, its warmth caressing his frigid pallid skin as dawn was breaking over Soul Society, Ichigo had never felt as afraid of death before as he did now.

* * *

His heart was beating furiously.

So quickly it thumped, as if his heart was trying to compensate during its last few moments for the rest of its lifetime it has to forego. Ichigo had been led forcefully by the guards out of the shrine, and it seemed to him like almost half an hour had passed that they were walking around Seireitei grounds towards an unknown destination. Wherever it was, Ichigo knew there lay the object with which they would pierce his soul's heart and his existence would disappear into reishi… cease to nothingness. That thought made him break out in cold sweat despite the warmth the now overhead sun beat down on Soul Society.

"Where exactly are you bastards taking me?" He had all but lost his voice. His throat was parched like the dry sands of Hueco Mundo, and his muscles screamed in agony with every step he took. The kidou binds were still in place, crushing his arms into his torso, making walking the only movement possible. Thankfully, his wounds had festered to a point of infection where he could no longer feel any sensation in those areas. Despite such a wretched existence, Ichigo could not get rid of in himself the burning desire to live. The only consolation in this situation he could find was the reassuring weight of Zangetsu dangling on his back.

None of the hooded guards spoke in reply, annoying Ichigo further. He cursed under his breath, and finally they reached a compound which appeared to be the grounds of one of the squads of the Gotei Thirteen. This was hardly what he expected when he thought about where his execution might take place. As the guards shoved him roughly forward along the corridors, a few junior shinigami passing by regarded him and his company in horror.

Finally, they reached a shoji door, on which the sign reading "roku" indicated that this was indeed a Gotei 13 squad building, particularly belonging to the sixth squad.

One of the guards on his left grabbed a fistful of his orange hair, yanking his head down and bringing him on his knees as the other guards knelt in a similar fashion in front of the door. "We are the guards of the Shrine of Penitence, bringing the criminal Kurosaki Ichigo as instructed."

There was a brief moment of waiting, then the shoji door was opened brusquely, revealing the only occupant of the spacious room, so ornately decorated. At the far end of the room stood a colossal wooden desk holding stacks of paper, behind it was a huge poster bearing the squad's insignia and number. Ichigo stared in shock at the red-haired shinigami greeting them at the door. He had half-expected to have Kuchiki Byakuya to bring him to wherever it is he was about to meet his death, not Abarai Renji.

"Let go of him," ordered the lieutenant, his gaze meeting Ichigo's own surprised one.

To this command, the guards seemed hesitant to obey. For a moment they looked around at one another, then the one in front who appeared to be the leader spoke, "That is not possible, Abarai-fukutaichou. This one here is a dangerous—"

"Hardly the treatment to give to an acquitted man, eh?" Renji interrupted. The leader of the guards appeared taken aback by this revelation. Before anyone could verbalise the question hanging in the minds of everyone present, particularly of the criminal in question, Renji produced a scroll tucked away in his obi and unraveled it in front of their shocked faces. Ichigo searched his friend's face for answers but the red-haired lieutenant merely continued, reading from the scroll:

"An edict from the Central 46. The criminal Kurosaki Ichigo, deemed as a serious threat and menace to Soul Society's security by the Central 46, has been, upon recommendation and petition by the undersigned five captains of the Gotei 13, released from the death penalty to be carried out by the Technological Bureau and Department, hitherto the punishment advised by the Central 46 for the convict's aforementioned crimes described in the previous edicts. The criminal shall henceforth be handed over by the Guards of the Shrine of Penitence to the sixth squad of the Gotei 13, under the supervision of Abarai Renji-fukutaichou."

At this junction, Renji looked up at Ichigo, on whose face shock was written all over, and continued, "Within 24 hours, the criminal Kurosaki Ichigo must pass through the gates of Senkaimon and be henceforth banished into the real world, banned from utilizing his shinigami powers, his fate upon natural death of the organic body to be decided upon by the Central 46 at a later date."

Renji stopped, gazing back at the horrified expression which now replaced the initial shock on Ichigo's face. Before he could read out the rest of the edict, the guards released their hold on Ichigo, muttered incantations to remove the kidou binds, and bowed towards Renji one last time before disappearing from the grounds of the sixth squad.

Renji heaved a sigh of resignation and peered back into the parchment, dictating the last paragraph of the edict, "Any registered shinigami of the Gotei 13 who makes contact with the criminal in exile will be charged with the serious offence of high treason towards Soul Society."

Time seemed to stretch an eternity as the two comrades regarded each other in intense silence. Finally, Ichigo struggled to get on his feet, his arms tired from restricted circulation brought on by the tight kidou binds. Both men knew exactly what this meant. To be quite honest, Renji was not so sure whether the other man preferred this news to impending death.

After staring at the floor for what seemed like hours, Ichigo finally looked up to see Renji staring at him as if searching his expression for meaning. The injured man gave a weak smirk and snorted before saying, "24 hours?"

"I have 24 hours, eh, Renji?"

The lieutenant gave Ichigo a small nod of affirmation. Although his friend kept up a tough front towards him with regards to the news, Renji was quite sure that had their roles been reversed, had it been him instead of Kurosaki Ichigo who had to face this fate, he would have rather, like he knew Ichigo did right now, had been executed under the death penalty.

"Then, can you take me to her?"


	3. Chapter 3

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 3**

"Fatigue from lack of sleep and from hunger. It's really no wonder…"

Fixing his gaze upon the sleeping figure huddled beneath the covers of the futon, Kuchiki Byakuya barely heard the rest of the words spoken by the Kuchiki resident healer. "… Rukia-sama should be fine after a few days' sleep and rest, Kuchiki-dono."

Byakuya thanked the old man for his services, and after bowing respectfully to the leader of the Kuchiki clan, the healer left Byakuya alone in the room with his adopted sister.

The Kuchiki-taichou closed his eyes in contemplation. The servants had found Rukia unconscious outside his quarters the night before, obviously having passed out from kneeling and going without food for the whole day. Byakuya recalled the previous encounter with his sister the day before, an action which he immediately regretted for it brought a throbbing headache to his temples.

"_Onegai, Nii-sama, please… Please save Kurosaki Ichigo!"_

The captain opened his eyes and looked once again at his sister sleeping across the room. Her figure was like a bird's, small and lithe, just like Hisana's. But Rukia lacked the fragility his wife often exuded, brought on by that quiet submersed sadness and burdened guilt she carried on her shoulders when she had lived. He remembered the look in her deep purple eyes as she pleaded for the life of the one important to her.

Yes, his sister was strong. She had the will and the strength, just like the man she loved, something that Hisana, or even Byakuya himself, did not have.

Padding over silently across the room, Byakuya lifted the futon's blanket to cover his sister's sleeping form. As he left the room and closed the shoji door quietly behind him, he wondered if Rukia would be thankful for what he had done for her.

Perhaps she would despise him for his actions. Byakuya himself had experienced before the feelings that would soon come after the following events, and the suffering his sister would have to endure. But, he thought, this was for the best.

The master of the house had walked barely a few doors away from Rukia's room when he sensed the all-too-familiar reiatsu of two approaching figures. Byakuya heaved a soft sigh of annoyance. Of course, he should have expected this. But the last person he wanted to see right now stood a few meters in front of him, accompanied by his lieutenant.

"Byakuya."

The noble man had expected the orange-haired unrefined shinigami, now clad in a clean blue yukata, to regard him in his usual inappropriate manner, and indeed he had lived up to expectations. Ichigo stared at the Kuchiki-taichou, who remained as passive and reticent in demeanour as ever.

"Taichou," Renji bowed his head slightly in respect, and Byakuya gave his lieutenant a nod of acknowledgement. "She needs to rest. Don't disturb her for too long."

And with that, the older man proceeded to walk away from the other two shinigami. As he did, he heard the man whose life he just saved speak.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, arigatou."

Byakuya stopped in his tracks. "It was not done for you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Naruhudo. Nonetheless, thank you for doing it for her."

The older man turned his head slightly towards the orange-haired shinigami. This man… Now he understood why his adoptive sister held this man in such a high regard. Having said all that needed to be said, the Kuchiki-taichou resumed his steps down the corridor.

"Renji."

"Hai, taichou."

"Let us go."

With that, Ichigo was left alone on the quiet empty corridors of the Kuchiki manor.

Ichigo stared at the shoji door of the room at the far end of the corridor. At this distance he could already feel the familiar reiatsu of the occupant in the room. He knew she was wide awake, and he also knew that she had sensed his approach as well. Contradicting emotions welled up inside of him at the thought of the person dwelling inside. On one hand, he wanted so much to burst into that room and snog the female shinigami senseless, but at the same time, the awkwardness of their last meeting had Ichigo holding back from even taking one step closer.

Ichigo finally gathered nerves of steel and walked determinedly until he reached the end of the corridor. He placed his right hand on the door, with the intention of sliding it open. For a moment his hand lingered there, as the sky outside turned orange while the sun slowly set. His heart was overflowing with a myriad of emotions that he was afraid he might make a fool out of himself in front of Rukia.

Inhaling deeply, Ichigo slid the shoji door open, revealing an elegantly-furnished spacious room. He had never stepped foot on Rukia's room in the Kuchiki manor, it was his first time. Searching the room for that familiar raven-coloured hair, he found it tucked away beneath layers of blankets.

Rukia lay on the futon, her back facing him so that he could not see her face. She seemed asleep, but Ichigo knew better; she had been waiting for him to come in. Ichigo stood rooted on the spot by the shoji door through which he had come in. Moments passed before the petite shinigami finally turned around and sat up on the futon to face her visitor.

Bloodshot, fatigued purple eyes rimmed with dark circles fastened upon warm brown ones.

The two shinigami regarded each other for what seemed like an eternity. At that time, it felt as though there was only the two of them, and nothing else – the furniture, the walls, the room, the whole world seemed to have all but disappeared. The usual fierce scowl on Ichigo's face softened as he observed the girl's features across the room, her face sunken and collarbones jutting out below her neck. A smirk replaced his usual expression as he greeted her, "Yo, Rukia."

Silence. Outside, the cicadas were filling the evening air with sounds of their mating rituals.

Ichigo looked up in confusion at the girl's unresponsiveness. Rukia truly appeared dead with her hair in a mess and her face frozen in passivity, her deep violet eyes boring holes into his skull.

"Oi, Rukia."

At that instant, Rukia removed herself out of the futon and padded across the room towards him with conviction, her hands bunched into fists at her sides, her fierce glare still transfixed on him. "Can't you at least look happier that I'm—"

Ichigo was interrupted midway in his speech by a hard slap across the left cheek, and then followed immediately by another across the right. "What the fuck are you doing, idiot?"

Rukia looked unfazed at all by his reaction; she never once took her murderous gaze away from him, and in fact she looked as if she was preparing for another attack. Ichigo anticipated this, so he quickly grabbed her wrists, but the shorter shinigami was faster, thus she was able to deliver a few punches to his chest before he could do anything.

Staring in horror at the girl half his size, Ichigo attempted to block her blows without hurting her. Rukia looked very deranged indeed, almost mental, the way she was lunging at him with homicidal fervor. In his confusion, Ichigo gave up trying to defend himself and let Rukia continue her blows on his chest, the strength of her fists eventually dying away. At last, Rukia clutched the lining of his azure yukata and leaned her forehead on his chest, obscuring her face from his view.

"Oi, R-Rukia…"

Ichigo patted her head awkwardly, taken aback by the course of events, and then closing his eyes he gathered his arms around her small body. There came no sound from Rukia, not an admonishing word, not even a sob, but Ichigo could feel the warm tears that flowed into his borrowed yukata. They stayed like that for a while, perhaps a few minutes, a silent exchange between two hearts beyond words and conversations. They were like that, their dynamics, and that was what Ichigo liked so much about their relationship. Nothing else needed to be said.

After a while, Rukia looked up to gaze at Ichigo face-to-face. She grabbed the hair above his ears and pulled him down to her height, while she stood on the tips of her toes, so that they were staring directly at each other's eyes. The abruptness and vigour of Rukia's actions scared Ichigo just a little bit, but the intense stare she was giving him stirred warm unprecedented feelings in his stomach.

Bereft of all logical thought, Ichigo leaned forward and took her lips with his own.

Suddenly, it did not matter anymore what had transpired during the last time they had seen each other, whatever crimes he had committed and what punishment he deserved, or whatever the future had in store for their fates.

The initially innocent kiss deepened further, fuelled by repressed desires and mutual longing. Rukia placed her arms around his neck, returning the kiss with equal hunger, while Ichigo's grip on the back of her head pressed her lips closer to his.

Then, out of the blue, Ichigo felt himself being pushed violently away, sending him flying against the wall, his back aching from the impact.

"What the—"

He looked up at Rukia, now standing rigidly and passively, his eyes following the direction at which she was staring. By the shoji door stood the master of the house, Kuchiki Byakuya.

"N-Nii-sama."

"Rukia," the older Kuchiki replied, seemingly unaffected by the sight he witnessed a few moments ago. He did not even acknowledge the orange-haired man who was just in a passionate open-mouthed liplock with his sister and was now sitting on his bottom across the room. "Would you join me for dinner?"

Rukia seemed honoured by this request, but instinctively, she turned her gaze slightly towards the direction of Ichigo. This did not go unnoticed by the older Kuchiki. "Kurosaki Ichigo may join us."

The female shinigami's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and then bowed her head in response. "Hai. Arigatou, nii-sama. We will follow shortly."

The captain left the room with the slide of the shoji door. Rukia turned to face the orange-haired man who sat frozen on the spot where he landed, his face unsure of whether to hold a scowl or the quizzical expression which took over. The whole situation seemed so comical and peculiar that the raven-haired shinigami burst out in laughter, the first time she had really laughed a hearty laugh in such a long time.

Ichigo looked indignant at this response but upon hearing the sound of her laughter, he found that he did not mind at all. The sight of Rukia bent over in laughter, clutching at her sides, Ichigo had not witness such a sight in so long. Ichigo walked up to her and stretched his arm around her sides.

"Idiot, shut up already! Let's go before your idiotic brother kills us," Ichigo scowled deeply.

The sound of his sister's laughter was carried by the evening breeze along the corridors of the manor where Byakuya stood. Hearing that joyous sound, Byakuya thought, perhaps he had made the right decision after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 4**

Ichigo had never had such a – for want of a better word – _uptight_ dinner before.

Although there were only three people including himself gathered around the low but spacious oak table in the middle of the even more spacious Kuchiki dinner hall, the abundance and variety of the dishes sprawled in front of them seemed as though there was enough to feed the whole of Soul Society for a week.

A thought which Ichigo had absent-mindedly verbalized to his dinner companions, thus earning him a good kick on the shin underneath the table from the raven-haired shinigami sitting cross-legged adjacent to his right. He gave a loud yelp of pain, but the said female shinigami threw to his direction a glare so murderous, Ichigo had to restrain himself.

Across the massive table, behind the sizzling hotpots of stewed beef, the Kuchiki clan leader gave no indication of acknowledging his comment, and continued to eat the sukiyaki in a stoic and impassive manner. Ichigo remarked to himself that there could be a war at the doorstep and Kuchiki Byakuya would still not be doing things differently.

This time, he had enough sense not to repeat his mistake, considering that Rukia had spent the past five minutes casting admonishing glances at him, in response to his obvious displeasure at the situation. The rest of the dinner passed in silence and with lack of any significant events, except for the occasional interruption by the servants bringing in _more_ dishes and a certain orange-haired shinigami trying to pass off his disbelief as random coughs.

Which was why, as soon as Kuchiki Byakuya had announced the end of his dinner and departed from the room, Ichigo immediately let out the pent-up breath he had not realized he was holding in throughout the whole dinner, and exclaimed, "God, Rukia, I owe my life to your brother, but seriously he is one big—"

Rukia threw him another one of those patented Kuchiki deathglares, cutting off his description of what exactly Kuchiki Byakuya was. "Shut up, idiot, he might hear you!"

"I mean look at this!" Ichigo retorted incredulously, pointing in disbelief at the plates of almost untouched dishes of food, "Is dinner in this household always this extravagant?"

Strangely enough, Rukia's cheeks flushed bright red, but she answered, "Don't be stupid, Ichigo. We have a huge crew of servants in the Manor. What do you think we feed them with?"

A moment of silence passed between them while Rukia placed a spoonful of green powder into a small bowl and another army of servants came forth to start clearing the table. A light zephyr of evening breeze entered through the open door through which they entered, and from the dying rays of the sun Ichigo could tell it was near dusk soon. Watching her swirl the moist green tea powder into a paste with a small brush in such a graceful way he'd never associate with Rukia, Ichigo realized that his twenty-four hours were fast running out.

Rukia was rambling on something along the lines of "I don't know how Nii-sama did it" and "it just doesn't make sense". He did not really hear the words clearly; he was too busy observing her every feature – the way her small lips moved as she spoke animatedly, the way the ends of her jet-black hair seem to curl up like a stroke of calligraphy and rest on her petite shoulders, the way a certain wide-eyed sparkle danced across the deep violet orbs of her eyes.

That precise moment was when his heart seemed to whisper to him with much certainty and conviction the realization which hit him like a brick wall.

He was madly in love with Kuchiki Rukia.

"… must be due to all your past contributions to Soul Society, it's about time they acknowledged that…"

Ichigo observed her with a rather curious expression replacing the usual scowl on his face, as Rukia obliviously continued her monologue to him. The servants had almost finished clearing up all the dishes in front of them. Outside, the sun had almost but disappeared from the sky, which had now turned dark orange. Soon, the last of the servants had departed, leaving the two of them alone in the large dinner hall.

Kuchiki Byakuya was all too cruel to leave him with this painful task.

"… I'm glad they spared your life, of course, but I don't get why they let you off scot-free—"

Rukia upset the teacups in surprise as Ichigo's right hand clasped the hand which steadied the small china into which she was pouring tea. She stared at the rivers of the spilt warm green liquid which quickly crept towards their linked hands. She had become aware that for the past few minutes the man beside her had not uttered a single word. A moment passed before Ichigo, who was now looking out into the dark sky, such that Rukia could not read the expression on his face, finally spoke a single word softly.

"Exiled."

Ichigo turned to face Rukia, her short noble eyebrows knit in confusion and her eyes scrutinizing his face as though they could find the answers to her unspoken questions there.

"Banished into the real world, fate upon natural death to be decided upon by the Central 46…" His free hand put the upset teacups back to their upright position. "… high treason for any shinigami to make contact…" The hand was reunited with the other, such that both his hands now clasped Rukia's child-like one.

Glancing upon the shiny irises of her eyes, meeting them with an equally intense stare, he finally concluded, "… And that is the reason why, Rukia, I have escaped the punishment I so deserve."

For a long time their eyes were locked in each other's gaze as if in silent confrontation. Slowly but surely, realization dawned on deep violet eyes, just as glistening tears seemed to gather around the edges, threatening to fall down her astounded face.

But they did not. Rukia simply bowed her head, the shadows of the evening's light falling on her face, obscured by her dark long fringe.

"Sou ka?"

The strangled voice with which that small question was asked made Ichigo's heart constrict in agony, but his hands tightened their grip on her cold fingers.

"Aa."

The female shinigami let out a small forceful chuckle, the edge of her lips contorting into a lopsided smile. "That's… that's great, then."

The scowl on Ichigo's face deepened.

"You've been given a great opportunity, Ichigo. An opportunity to live the life of a normal human… Yes, the Central 46 had been gracious…"

This enraged Ichigo, his hands abandoning hers and grabbing the petite shinigami by the shoulders, shaking her in disbelieving anger. "Can you hear yourself, Rukia? Did you just not hear what I said?"

Looking up, Rukia gave him a deadpan stare through listless eyes. "… You should study again, Ichigo, your grades have been so bad lately…"

She had a big, rather stupid-looking grin now, but she avoided his gaze entirely, and on her face tears were streaming down in ironic contradiction. "… Have a great career…" she continued, ignoring the way Ichigo was shaking her roughly.

"… Marry a nice girl, start a family…"

Ichigo stopped and looked at the woman he loved straight in the eyes. The grin had disappeared, but quiet tears continued to stain her cheeks, as Rukia finally met his gaze and said so softly, "Live your life, Ichigo, as you were destined to live it before I changed everything."

With that, she looked away, unable to endure seeing the hurt that flashed across cold brown eyes.

"Ano… Rukia-sama…"

The servant-maid's voice cut the tension in the air, behind her stood Abarai Renji accompanied by five other armed shinigami. The girl left the room after the red-haired lieutenant had thanked her. Ichigo stared at Rukia as if he had not noticed the intruders arriving, his hands still grasping her arms tightly.

"Ichigo. It is time."

Ichigo searched Rukia's face for a reaction – anything – _anything_ besides this resigned response she was giving him, but the girl was still determined to avoid his gaze. This was not what he wanted from the Rukia he knew, the Rukia he loved. The girl who would fight alongside him at any battle. When he got nothing else, he stood up and closed his eyes shut, hands clenching into fists at his sides.

"Aa."

Opening his eyes, Ichigo saw Renji glance at the Rukia with a similar resigned expression. He walked towards the door, meeting the six other men waiting to ensure his passage through the Senkaimon. Glancing back slightly, Ichigo's last sight of Rukia was her sitting like a statue by the table, the hand which he had held moments ago resting peacefully on the polished surface, the other hand clutching the sleeves of her yukata, her face hidden as she looked away at the other side of the room.

"Let's go, Renji."

And so Kurosaki Ichigo passed through the gates of Senkaimon to live his new life, without ever saying goodbye to the only person who mattered.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Sun and the Moon**

**PART TWO**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

_It was raining heavily._

_Ichigo pulled his raincoat closer to his body. He marveled at the way his red wellingtons made squelching noises every time they made contact with the shiny asphalt of the sidewalk where they tread._

_A car drove passed, splashing rainwater from the puddles into his smiling face._

"_Such a rude man, is he not, Ichigo?"_

_The familiar sweet-sounding voice was immediately followed by an angelic face, as mother stooped down to wipe her young son's face dry, a wide smile on the boy's face showing all his milk teeth. "It's okay, okaa-chan!" Ichigo answered, offering to stand on the outermost edge of the sidewalk nearest to the road, so as to "protect okaa-chan from the nasty cars", to which the young mother laughed amusedly._

_All this time, the boy clutched his mother's hand tightly, never letting go. The warmth of his mother's hand always made him feel safe and secure, like he could do anything in the world with her by his side. The young woman stood up, straightened the umbrella and mother and son continued walking in the rain happily._

_Ichigo looked across at the river's edge. The river had swollen and threatened to spill onto the banks, but to his surprise there was a girl by the edge. She was clad in an antediluvian kimono as black as her raven hair. The young boy stopped in his tracks._

_Turning around, the girl's deep violet eyes stared back at him._

_Ichigo released his mother's hand, and ran down the grassy slope towards the riverbanks._

_He had to get to her, somehow…_

"_Ichigo!" he heard his mother's angelic voice shout his name…_

_But Rukia…_

"Ichigo!"

The young man was roused from his dream by the annoying sound of someone shouting his name. The orange-haired man did the first instinctive reaction that came to him, his punch sending the source of that annoying sound flying to the other side of the room and landing unceremoniously with a loud crash.

"Why did you punch me, Ichigo? I thought you liked me!~"

Ichigo yawned, getting into a sitting position on the bunk bed. The trademark scowl returned to his face. "Idiot, why the fuck did you wake me up all of a sudden?"

The other man had tears streaming down his face as he replied in a tone used by jealous girlfriends, "You were screaming out some girl's name! Ru-Rukie or something… Who is she anyway and—"

"Shut up, Takada."

Takada Yosuke got up all of a sudden, face contorted indignantly. "Takada? Aren't we on first-name basis already, Ichigo~!" And with that, the other man in white coat pouted his lips into a kissy face and advanced on Ichigo, who launched a pre-emptive attack which sent Yosuke flying out of the room so fast, the wind closed the door behind him in a bang.

Ichigo sighed. 12:34AM, the clock on the bedside table read. At least he managed to get some two hours of sleep.

Until now, he could not believe his bad luck that ensured that of all his classmates in medical school, the homosexual one who had always been obsessed with him had to be the other junior resident doctor in Kagamino Community Hospital. Takada Yosuke had hit on Ichigo whenever he could since day one, but despite that Ichigo still remained friends with the guy, who reminded him so much of his classmate Asano Keigo, and thus helped Ichigo not to feel as homesick about being away from Karakura.

Ichigo laid back on the bed and stared blankly at the lightbulb overhead. It had been good for him too, that Yosuke woke him up before the dream really ended. He had been having the same recurring one for weeks now, and every night it ended the same horrible way. It was strange, he thought, because in reality it was a Hollow in that memory, not the raven-haired shinigami who haunted his dream.

It had been three years now, since he graduated from medical school and started working at the hospital. He had moved into a small apartment nearby in Kagamino, north of Karakura, a little short of two years ago, something which his sister Yuzu cried over until now. Ichigo had no use for the apartment anyway, for he practically lived in the hospital nowadays.

His whole family was shocked when he first announced to them during dinner that he had applied and was accepted to medical school shortly after high school. The twins were overjoyed but his old man, who he had expected to be bouncing off the walls in his usual overexcited manner, was unusually quiet that night. Isshin never commented about his son's decision since then.

Ichigo got out of bed and prepared himself for a long night of being on call. Most young doctors like him hated the idea of prawling the wards at early hours of the night, keeping watch on any critical changes in the patients, but to Ichigo it was his favourite time of the day, when the corridors were empty and silence was the only companion to his contemplative solitude.

"Is this even what you call living a life, Onii-chan?" was Karin's nonchalant remark during one of their visit to him at the hospital, referring to his abnormal less-than-four-hours-of-sleep-a-day lifestyle. To that, Ichigo made no reply. He knew his sisters still disapproved of his idea to move out and live away from the family in order to work at the hospital. "You know, Onii-chan… Otou-san could use a lot of help at the clinic…"

Every visit the twins would try all means and ways to convince him to return to the clinic; they even enticed him with generous financial incentives, but every time Ichigo refused them. He could not bring himself to reside in that house and sleep in that room, not when there was a pair of checkered yellow pyjamas still folded neatly in his closet, not when there were graffiti of bunny-looking characters on his closet door and his wooden desk, not when there were still unremovable stains on the ceiling because someone never understood how to insert a straw properly into a tetra-pack – no, he could not bear it, not when everywhere he looked, all he could see were the traces of the existence of someone long gone.

That was the reason why Ichigo immersed himself completely in his job, though in fact to the young orange-haired man, being a doctor was more of a blessing. Ichigo had returned to the living world with an aching emptiness in his heart that could not be cured, but he found that in between on-call duties and treating patients and surgeries, the profession had somewhat helped him forget that gaping midget-shaped void in his life.

But perhaps most importantly, being a doctor enabled him to save the living from pain and hurt, since there was nothing he could do now for the dead.

"Kurosaki-sensei," a young female nurse handed a patient's folder to him nervously, avoiding his gaze. "Uh… Yamashita-san's blood pressure had been rather unstable tonight, but I've been monitoring him…"

"Arigatou, Mashima-san," replied Ichigo, which brought a deep crimson blush to the young girl's fair cheeks.

He was walking towards Ward 317 where his patient, an old man with prostrate cancer called Yamashita, was being confined, when a familiar figure with long auburn hair sitting on the benches along the corridors caught his attention.

The woman looked up, then sensing a pair of eyes on her, she turned to look at Ichigo's direction.

"_Inoue?_"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

{i} Really sorry I haven't been updating this fic. Actually I've posted till Chapter 27 at nahypochlorite[dot]livejournal[dot]com so do head over there if you're impatient! I will be posting the polished up chapters in here anyway, but will probably take some time.

{ii} Also I really need a beta reader so please PM me if you're interested!


	6. Chapter 6

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 6**

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Ichigo said as he closed the ward door behind him. "Old patients don't usually like getting checked for everything, but it seems Yamashita-san deviates from the norm."

Inoue Orihime chuckled. "Nn, it's okay, Kurosaki-kun! I haven't been waiting long."

Ichigo knew it was lie, because Nurse Mashima had informed him during Yamashita-san's checkup that the beautiful, well-endowed girl had been waiting for him since seven in the evening.

Orihime held out a big plastic bag towards him. As they walked to the canteen, Ichigo opened it to look at the contents inside, which revealed themselves to be his own clothes, freshly-laundered and still smelling of flower-scented detergent.

"Oh, look, Kurosaki-kun! There's an empty table over there!" Orihime had already made her way towards the table before Ichigo could even react to the discovery that once again, for the umpteenth time, the girl had taken the initiative to wash his laundry.

Ichigo followed her gingerly towards the table, where Orihime had already seated herself. "Ano… Inoue. I told you, didn't I? You don't have to wash my laundry—"

"No, Kurosaki-kun! It was nothing, heh.. heh.." The girl was in an awfully joyous mood, and she rambled on and on about her difficulty choosing what to eat as they ordered. Finally, the food came and Orihime started piling on melted cheese on her salmon belly sushi, when she noticed that Ichigo had remained quiet and was staring at her.

"Kurosaki-kun? Is something wrong?"

"Why are you here, Inoue?" asked Ichigo quietly, his face holding a strange expression which Orihime had never seen before. "To see you, of course, Kurosaki-kun!"

"I heard from Tatsuki that your house was a mess, so I came down and—"

"I told you a million times never to clean my house again, didn't I?"

Orihime seemed to cower back slightly in fear. Ichigo regretted immediately for sounding too fierce. He was not really angry with the girl, it was more of… frustration. He made a mental note to himself to make sure his apartment door was locked before he left the house ever again.

The girl in front of him looked down at her lap in sadness. For a moment, Ichigo feared that she might start crying right then and there in the middle of the canteen. He noted that the Chief of Medicine was dining with his other seniors at a nearby table. "Are you angry with me, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo sighed. "No, I am not angry, Inoue. Just that—"

"Orihime," the girl said softly.

Ichigo blinked back in confusion.

"You can call me Orihime, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo looked away. He did not know how long he could keep this up, how long they could do this.

"Don't."

Orihime saw that his hand was clenched to a fist. Looking up, she realized that Ichigo was scowling intently at his fist in concentration. "Don't do this anymore, Inoue."

Orihime broke into a smile, suddenly eager to change the topic. "Alright, Kurosaki-kun! Look, let's not—"

Ichigo looked up in anger this time, speaking every single word with malice. "Do you think, Inoue, that by doing all this for me – cleaning my house, washing my laundry – I will suddenly proclaim my undying love to you?"

The smile on Orihime's face dropped immediately, her brown eyes betrayed the hurt his words had caused.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Inoue, before you finally give up?"

This time he had done it; Ichigo looked up to see Orihime's tear-stained face. He felt like the biggest bastard in the whole world, but he knew that if he did not become one now, he would be an even bigger bastard later.

"I know, Kurosaki-kun. I know that when Kuchiki-san was around, I could never compete with her. But I had hoped that… I had hoped…"

Ichigo laughed menacingly. It almost felt like he was watching someone else, and not himself, making a girl cry and hurting her feelings. "That I would reciprocate your feelings?"

Orihime looked up and stared back at his defiant eyes. "No, Kurosaki-kun. I know I will never be able to replace Kuchiki-san in your heart, demo… I want you to depend on me, even if… Even if you cannot love me back… Just, please, Kurosaki-kun, at least try to…"

Ichigo stared at Orihime incredulously as she continued. "I do not mind if you marry me out of pity, I just… I just want to be by your side forever…"

Ichigo stood up in disbelief. He was about to stalk off due to the absurdity of her suggestion; he could not take hearing her words any second longer, but Orihime clutched his arm, this time attracting the attention of the diners at nearby tables. Orihime looked at him in a beseeching plea. He returned her gaze, this time the scowl on his face softening. This woman… This woman was offering herself to him wholeheartedly, this wonderful, beautiful woman… And yet, why couldn't he find it in himself to say yes?

Orihime looked at him expectantly. Ichigo sighed and took the hand which clutched desperately at his arm, a gesture which seemed to raise some hope within Orihime. He motioned for them to sit down, and finally when the attention of the onlookers had been diverted elsewhere, he continued, "I'm sorry, Inoue."

More tears fell as Orihime looked down dejectedly.

His hand still holding hers, Ichigo said, "I can't do that, Orihime."

"I can't lie to you, or to myself. Can you do that, Orihime? Can you live a lie?"

Time ticked by in silence, then finally Orihime extracted her hand from beneath his and quickly stood up from her chair.

"Sayonara, Kurosaki-kun," was the last thing she said before she left him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Ichigo sat alone at the table later for a few minutes, perhaps hours, silently wondering to himself what a certain raven-haired shinigami would do to him, what punishment he would get, had she known what a bastard he had been.

* * *

"Congratulations, Rukia!"

The female shinigami almost choked on her sake when her red-haired childhood friend patted her on the back so violently. After coughing out the snorted alcohol unceremoniously, she scolded, "Stop it, you idiot, you almost killed me!"

Abarai Renji looked back at her quizzically. "What's with your face? It doesn't look like it belongs to someone who had just been promoted to the position of a lieutenant!"

"Shut up, Renji."

"What, you're not happy with it? Aspiring to be a captain is a _bit _too ambitious at this point of time, isn't it, Rukia?" Renji poured himself another cup of sake. It was the first time Rukia had joined the other lieutenants in their weekly sake gatherings at Rukongai. Matsumoto Rangiku was already knocked out after downing almost 5 bottles of sake by herself, and Kira Izuru had to run to the backdoor as he was going to be sick. Just like every other week, nothing abnormal there.

"What captain, you idiot?" Rukia replied, deciding she might as well pour herself some sake too. "I didn't want to get seated at all, Renji."

"Why not? Ukitake-taichou had been wanting to make you his lieutenant for ages, and finally Kuchiki-taichou had come around to letting you become a seated officer…"

Placing the cup to her mouth, Rukia downed the alcohol in one shot. There was a burning sensation as the sake flowed down her throat, but the after-taste was refreshing. She was reminded of the day her brother informed her of the recommendation to appoint her as the new lieutenant of the thirteenth squad.

"_I am honoured, Onii-sama," she said, bowing her head such that her forehead touched the tips of her hands flat on the floor. "But—"_

"_I have conveyed my approval to Ukitake-taichou's request, Rukia. Taking up his previous post—" Rukia looked up slightly, "—I think Shiba Kaien would find it a very generous gesture from you, do you not agree?"_

_At that point, Rukia could not understand why she could not bring herself to say anything but, "Yes, Nii-sama."_

Rukia sighed at the memory. The tattooed man beside her was now observing a certain pink-haired lieutenant terrorizing Izuru who had just returned from the back of the teahouse.

"I know why you're not exactly happy about it," Renji's deep voice broke through her own thoughts.

Her childhood friend looked at her knowingly. "Now that you're a lieutenant, you can't go back and forth between the living world and Soul Society as easily as before."

Renji said it so matter-of-factly, he might have been stating instead that the world was round and not flat.

The quick flicker of her gaze towards him betrayed her shock at his astute observation, but Rukia said nothing to his comment. "Don't think I haven't noticed your unexplained disappearances into the living world, Rukia."

"Your brother noticed it too."

Rukia sighed, dropping all pretences. "Perhaps that's exactly why he approved of my appointment in the first place, to prevent me from ever going back to the living world," she lamented as she adjusted the position of the wooden badge with her squad's insignia and number on her upper arm. She still had not gotten used to its annoying presence.

"So you have been meeting him then?"

Rukia stopped fidgeting with her lieutenant's badge and poured herself another drink. She was finally starting to understand the joys of sake. "No wonder I never stood a chance…"

"He doesn't know," she said quickly, before pouring the warm alcohol into her mouth. Renji looked at her disbelievingly. "So you've been following him around like a stalker?"

"Shut up."

Rukia poured herself the last drop from the bottle, and downed another cup of sake. Renji decided that it was probably best that he left the topic at that, considering that his friend was now seemingly determined to empty the teahouse of all its sake bottles. For a moment, the two childhood friends just observed the rest of the lieutenants, who were all either dead drunk, or getting abused by Yachiru-fukutaichou.

After fifteen minutes, Rukia had felt it was courtesy to join the rest, and dropped her head on the table with a loud thud, muttering incoherently from intoxication, leaving Renji the only sane person left in the group. "Oi, Rukia!"

Renji jabbed his friend by the ribs. "Stop it, Ichigo… _towakke_…" murmured the petite shinigami, before falling asleep with her mouth unflatteringly open.

Renji sighed. Watching all his fellow lieutenants make a fool of themselves, he made a mental note to himself never to invite Rukia to another weekly gathering ever again.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 7**

"Leek, vinegar, fish, soy sauce…"

Orihime ran through her grocery shopping list over and over again in her head. Every time she found herself dwelling on a particularly depressing topic which involved a certain orange-haired man, she recalled the ingredients of her new recipe again, but the method had been getting less and less effective as of late.

Carrying the heavy grocery-laden plastic bags in her hands, Orihime walked down the road quietly. No matter how hard she tried, she could not erase that voice replaying itself over and over again in her head.

"_Do you think, Inoue, that by doing all this for me… I will suddenly proclaim my undying love to you?"_

Orihime slapped her face with her free hand. "Ahh! Too depressing! Don't be like this, Orihime!" And she continued to walk determinedly towards her apartment. She now lived in Kagamino too, where she found a job as a pre-school teacher, something she enjoyed immensely. Everyone thought she had done it for Kurosaki-kun's sake, but the truth was that she truly loved her new job. Nonetheless, being this close to the object of her affections did not make her life any easier.

Memories of their previous encounter drifted to her mind once again. She was nearing her apartment now, where she lived on the third floor. Looking up, the sight of the unmistakeably orange hair of the man standing at the gate stopped her dead on her tracks.

Across the distance, Ichigo met her gaze sheepishly.

Slowly, Orihime continued walking towards him, avoiding his gaze. As she approached nearer, he finally said, "Inoue."

Orihime chided herself for lacking the willpower to walk past him without acknowledging his presence. She stopped right at the doorstep of the apartment block, her back facing him.

Ichigo scratched his head absent-mindedly, thinking of what to say next. He had come to see her out of courtesy, knowing that their previous encounter had him acting like a jerk. "Uh… Inoue…"

"You are going to say '_Gomen nasai_, Inoue', _ne_, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime started, her face hidden from his view.

"But you will still say that you can never love me back." This time, she turned around, her face wearing the most curious expression. Ichigo was at a loss for words. Perhaps it was inconsiderate of him to call on her right now, after all.

"It's okay, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime continued, her lips now forcing a small smile. "I am not going to hope anymore. I hope we will still be good friends, though, Kurosaki-kun. Demo… For now, I think… I would be happier if I didn't see you at all."

Ichigo stared at her for a while, then sighed in understanding. "You're right."

With that, Orihime proceeded to climb up the stairs carrying her grocery, fighting every urge and desire then and there to plead with Kurosaki-kun with such desperation, as if it would move his heart; but Orihime knew that from the start she had lost to Kuchiki-san. No, she would chide herself bitterly sometimes, how could she have lost when she never had the chance to begin with?

"We will always be _nakama_, Inoue."

Ichigo's serious but sincere tone broke through Orihime's thoughts and there was a moment's hesitation in her steps. However, without turning back, she quickly disappeared up the stairs.

Ichigo stared at the stairs landing and gave a sigh. _Great._ He had once again succeeded in alienating another one of his friends. As if Ishida hating his guts now was not enough trouble for Ichigo, he was pretty sure he would not be seeing much of Orihime nowadays. The Quincy had disapproved greatly, as did everyone else, of Ichigo's actions during the Great Arrancar War in Hueco Mundo, even though their other friends like Chad, understood the dire circumstances he was put in. It did not help either that Orihime was madly in love with Ichigo, whom Ishida regarded as unworthy of even the slightest of her affections. Ichigo was sure then that the Quincy's hatred for him would only increase once the latter had caught wind of his latest treatment towards Orihime.

As he was about to leave the compound through the gate, he suddenly sensed a familiar _reiatsu_. It was only a split second, but it overwhelmed his whole being completely at that instant, stopping him dead on his tracks. The _reiatsu_ definitely belonged to –

_No, it can't be._

Ichigo looked around his surroundings. People were going about their business in their usual manner. A car sped past him, and across the road a group of youngsters were speaking animatedly as they walked on the pavement. Everything looked normal, as normal as Kagamino should be.

Blocking out the unanswered questions in his mind, Ichigo made his way back to the hospital.

* * *

Ichigo thought he might die from the vivid throbbing in his head; it felt as if a herd of bison was using his head as a stampeding ground.

_It's my fault. If I hadn't been gone for so long…_

The orange-haired doctor attempted in vain to stem the stabs of guilt and self-deprecating sentiments threatening to overflow in his heart. It wasn't his fault, his mind reassured himself, for he had tried his best. Upon his return from Orihime's apartment, he was immediately greeted by a panic-stricken Nurse Mashima, who informed him that his patient, a young boy called Takumi was in a critical condition. "His vital signs were quickly deteriorating over the hour, Kurosaki-sensei. We tried paging you, but when you haven't returned in fifteen minutes…"

Ichigo had made a mistake in forgetting to bring his beeper along when he left the hospital. He had examined the boy earlier that morning, and when he had assured himself that the boy's vital signs had stabilized long enough, he thought it would be all right if he made a quick trip to Inoue's.

However, Nurse Mashima had barely finished explaining to him the boy's condition, when the emergency alarm in the boy's ward sounded, followed by another nurse calling out frantically for help. They had lost the patient's heartbeat and pulse. Ichigo immediately performed an emergency resuscitation, trying to keep his cool despite panic welling up within him. "Takumi, come on, Takumi…" repeated Ichigo like a prayer, as he desperately pumped the defibrillators on the boy's chest in hope of reviving the boy. A minute or two had passed, until finally he caught sight of the broken Chain of Fate which hung on the chest of the boy, who was now standing by the bedside and looking in horror at his own broken body. It was then that Ichigo knew it was over.

He threw the equipment aside roughly and placed his hands on the bed for support, staring at the dead boy's body. Beads of sweat trickled down Ichigo's face, the high-pitched sound accompanying the flat line of the heartbeat monitor was all he could hear. Behind him, he heard one of the junior nurses let out a strangled sob, unable to hold back her emotions.

"Kurosaki-sensei?"

Ichigo looked up at the dead boy's spirit, who held the bewildered and frightened look he had so many times seen on the faces of all the patients he had failed to save. It was a look which wrenched Ichigo's heart from his body. Heaving an audible sigh of frustration, the orange-haired doctor diverted his gaze on the clock hanging on the wall. "Time of death, 8:23PM."

With that he had stormed out of the ward and sat himself on one of the hospital corridor benches, hoping to pull himself together before his emotions got out of hand. Ichigo had been practising medicine for almost five years after medical school now, and his profession required him to deal with death quite often; after all death was an inevitable occurrence in a place like the hospital. Indeed, Ichigo saw every week the deaths of at least one of the patients under his care. As doctors, they had been taught to not let the guilt overwhelm in these circumstances, especially when they have tried their best to preserve their patients' lives. Nevertheless, every death hit him as just as badly as the first, and this time was no different.

Raking his hand through his messy hair, he straightened himself up in his seat, attempting in vain to expel all the negative emotions together with the air from his lungs. He felt a comforting hand rest on his shoulder. It was Takada Yosuke.

"The parents are at the lobby, Ichigo."

The orange-haired doctor did not need to ask exactly what he had to do. He had to carry out the painful task of breaking the horrible news to relatives one time too many. Standing up from his seat, he slowly trudged his way down the corridor, his trademark scowl a mask for the dread he was feeling towards the impending task. However, the slump of his shoulders did not go unnoticed by the other young doctor.

"It wasn't your fault, Ichigo," he heard Takada shout down the corridor to him.

Ichigo knew it was not his fault; he could not have possibly predicted the sudden deterioration of the boy's health when his vital signs looked perfectly healthy hours before. But his heart still weighed heavy with guilt and remorse.

Finally, he reached the lobby where the boy's parents waited, the worry etched on their faces. He had seen them many times, for Takumi's chronic illness was also congenital. The boy's mother was clasping her hands nervously, while her husband had his right arm around her shoulders in a placating manner. The man saw Ichigo first, then his wife looked up, her face lighting up upon seeing the young doctor, as if she was extremely delighted to see her son's savior. Ichigo steadied himself as he approached the couple.

"How is our son, Sensei?"

Ichigo dropped his eyes, unable to look in the eyes the parents of the boy whose life he failed to save. It seemed he did not need to answer that question for the couple understood immediately what the gesture meant; the boy's mother erupted into tears, her husband catching her in time and holding her up in support.

Ichigo groped around for the appropriate words to say, but nothing seemed appropriate enough without sounding insincere. He went instead with an earnest apology, together with a deep bow. "I'm really sorry, Waseda-san."

However, when he looked up the boy's father looked up at him in utmost anger. "You told us our son was all right this morning, and now you're telling us that… that our son is…" Waseda-san looked almost as though he was about to strike the young doctor, and quite frankly at that moment, Ichigo welcomed the impending blow, but it did not come. The man gave Ichigo an intense stare, the pure hatred with which his eyes burned Ichigo would never forget.

Ichigo looked away, unable to take it any longer. "We tried our best, Waseda-san."

It was then that Ichigo felt it best to make himself scarce; the Wasedas would probably feel better if he did not linger in their presence further. He walked determinedly towards the first door he could reach, finding himself in one of the emergency staircases. Running down the stairs and opening the door hastily, his lungs screamed in gratitude as they filled with the fresh air outside the hospital building.

Ichigo simply stood there for minutes, simply breathing and staring at the black spotless sky overhead. A bright full moon hung on the dark horizon, but apart from the lone celestial body hardly any stars marked the sky.

His veins still pumping with adrenaline from the recent stressful events, Ichigo fished out a cigarette pack from inside his pristine white coat. Lighting a stick using a lighter from his pocket, he took a puff from the cigarette, its grey smoke filling his lungs and steadying his nerves. He had taken up the vice sometime in the last ten years – since he returned to the living world, he reminded himself mirthlessly – something he was sure his father would disapprove of if he found out his own son had taken after his own bad habits.

"Sensei?"

The small juvenile voice almost startled him out of his thoughts. The sight of the young boy's spirit sitting on the hedge across him, staring at him curiously, reminded him again of the horrible events of the day which he had for a moment in his contemplation forgotten. "I thought you said I shouldn't smoke when I get older because smoking is bad."

The doctor seemed to ignore the boy's innocent question, for he disregarded the boy's presence for the next five minutes, putting out the stub with his shoe and lighting another stick. However, Ichigo replied nonchalantly later, "You're not going to get older, anyway."

The boy's face contorted into a sad frown, as if he had just realized the obvious fact the doctor just pointed out. He seemed to ponder on this revelation for a moment, then he asked, "What's going to happen now, sensei?"

"Am I going to… to heaven?"

Ichigo met the frightened gaze of the young boy, who looked as if he was about to cry but was trying to keep up a tough front. Ichigo tried his best not to form emotional attachments with his patients, for it often made parting on such occasions difficult, but the boy had been under his charge since he was first diagnosed five years ago. Ichigo was rough in his conversations with the boy, so unlike other more placating doctors, but the boy seemed to have taken to liking Ichigo and even looked up to the doctor.

"It's a place called Soul Society." It was not exactly what Ichigo considered "heaven", thus he felt it best not to sugar-coat the truth by lying to the boy.

"S-soul s-society?"

"A shinigami should be coming around any minute now to take you there."

"S-shini… gami? What are they, sensei?"

At that moment, a vision of a certain black-haired shinigami flashed in Ichigo's mind. In his frustration, wanting as soon as possible to escape the boy's questions and the memories they raked up, he quickly answered, "They're usually midgets in black kimono."

"M-midgets?"

Ichigo did not bother to correct himself; he put out the stub of his second cigarette and started to make his way back into the building. The boy opened his mouth in further questions, but Ichigo waved him away, "Run off, already!"

But Takumi was determined to not let Kurosaki-sensei leave him there. The doctor had just yanked open the door through which he came through earlier, when he suddenly stopped in his actions, his hand still on the door handle and staring out of the corner of his eye towards a different direction. Takumi followed the man's line of vision and found himself staring merely at a clump of bushes and the stationary cars on the hospital's carpark behind. "S-sensei?"

The boy glanced back at the doctor, who was now staring intently at his hand on the door handle. "I'm sorry, Takumi."

The boy blinked back in confusion. "Bye," Ichigo said, then pushed the door open and disappeared into the building before Takumi could even ask him more questions.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 8**

Takumi sat forlornly on the steps of the entrance of the hospital, sighing as he rested his chin on his hands, pouting slightly. He watched in boredom people walking in and out of the building, seemingly oblivious to his presence. He had seen his own parents exit the building earlier, his 'Kaa-chan sobbing uncontrollably into his Otou-san's shoulder. Takumi cried himself hoarse calling out for his parents, but they seemed unable to hear his shouts nor detect his presence. All his attempts to capture their attention were futile, until finally he was forced to watch in agony as his parents drove off from the hospital, leaving him behind.

Now he was sitting in front of the hospital building, waiting for this "shinigami" Kurosaki-sensei said would come and take him to "Soul Society". But Takumi had been waiting for almost three hours now, and there was no sign of a midget nor a person in black kimono.

The boy was starting to think the doctor had been lying to him, when a raven-haired woman in black kimono appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. There was a sword tucked in her white obi, and her eyes were the colour of freshly-picked tulips; she looked positively out of place amidst the urban setting. "_Ohayou_. What's your name, child?" The lady asked with a smile in a strong but gentle voice.

Takumi stood up as he answered with his name, then he asked, "Are you a… s-shinigami?"

The black-haired woman seemed taken aback by this question. "How did you know—"

"You're a midget in black kimono!" the boy answered hurriedly, his face beaming as if he was positive he had the right answer to a difficult question posed by a teacher. Rukia tried her best not to take offence with the boy's insensitive comments about her lack of height. "Who told you that?"

"Kurosaki-sensei did!"

Takumi looked at the lady when she did not respond to his answer. She now looked very serious indeed, and at that moment he realized that his all-too-honest remark might have offended the pretty lady in front of him. "_Ano_… I'm sorry, Onee-san…"

The lady did not seem to hear his apology; for a moment the boy thought the shinigami-lady was probably angry with him now and would refuse to lead him to this "Soul Society" Kurosaki-sensei was talking about. But to his surprise, the shinigami-lady's lips curved into a knowing smile, as if she had just shared a private joke. "_Sou ka_, Takumi-chan?"

"Are you angry, Onee-san?"

"Nope," replied Rukia, stooping down on her knee so that she was now the same height as the boy. "Though you're one to call someone a midget when you're hardly any taller." Takumi gave a sheepish smile as the shinigami-lady ruffled his hair in an affectionate manner.

She unsheathed her sword, the bright sign of the Kagamino Hospital reflecting on its blade. The boy looked frightened at the sight of the blade, but Rukia reassured him of his safety. "You ready?"

The boy nodded gingerly. Rukia looked up and regarded the building she faced for a moment, before pressing the butt of the hilt of her sword on the boy's forehead. As the boy disappeared slowly in front of her, Rukia gave nobody in particular in the building one last look, the corner of her lips twitching.

"Midget, eh?"

* * *

Two days had barely passed since the death of one of his patients, but Ichigo found Takumi's empty bed in the paediatrics ward quickly occupied by another young patient, this time a young girl called Hidemi, who could only be best described, in Ichigo's opinion, as a spoilt brat.

"Okaa-chan!"

The young girl's high-pitched screams had been torturing him the whole day, right from when he had attempted to insert the dextrose needle into the girl's hand, which earned his eardrums a good beating for an hour straight. The girl's mother quickly came to attend to her whim, as Ichigo scanned the contents of the girl's profile folder. Chronic asthma, the diagnosis scribbled illegibly by the previous doctor read. Great, Ichigo thought, he would be hearing this girl more often that his ears would prefer.

"So is my baby all right now, sensei? I was so terrified last night, when she had an asthma attack…"

Ichigo assured the parents of Hidemi's stable condition, but explained that the girl had to be confined in the wards for a few days to be kept under observation. To this the girl complained loudly in her high-pitched voice. Ichigo excused himself, more than happy to leave the room.

As he walked towards the doctor's lounge, hoping to get a few hours sleep before he started his on-call duty at midnight, his thoughts drifted to the events of the past few days. He assumed that his recently dead patient Takumi had been _konsou_-ed to Soul Society, for he no longer saw the boy hanging around in front of the hospital, where Ichigo saw the boy sitting on the day of his death. However, that the boy had disappeared was not Ichigo's main concern; on his mind for the past few days were the instances, those brief split second moments, when he had felt that familiar reiatsu. The first was outside Orihime's apartment block, which he had dismissed as his own heart's longing playing tricks on his mind, but when he felt it again – that refreshing, reminiscent reiatsu which he had not sensed in almost ten years – during his conversation with Takumi outside the hospital building, he was sure that he was not imagining things this time.

But it couldn't have been her… could it?

Ichigo noticed that outside, the rain pattered down noisily on the window panes of the building. He gave a huge yawn as he approached the doctor's lounge. Opening the door, he saw that the bunk beds were empty, and he contented himself with the fact that he would be getting a good few hours of uninterrupted sleep tonight. Perhaps he had imagined all of it indeed. As he tucked himself into one of the beds and closed his eyes, the events of their last meeting at Byakuya's house replayed themselves in his mind, and they sure did all indicate that Ichigo would never again catch sight of another death butterfly nor of a kimono-clad figure. But before he could really think thoroughly about the slim possibility that his heart's wishes might have been fulfilled, Ichigo had drifted into a deep slumber, his dreams including a certain black-haired shinigami.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 9**

Ichigo awoke with a start.

At first he thought Takada had found it funny to disrupt him from a good night's sleep once again, and hoped to block off whoever had woken him up using a pillow. However, there was a loud explosion and the ground beneath gave a lurch, then a woman's scream finally woke Ichigo up completely. He was out of the lounge in an instant, and he was dumbfounded by the sight which greeted him.

At the end of the corridor was a huge gaping hole, and one could see few storeys down, as if someone had bitten off a huge chunk of the hospital building.

Around him, there was a big commotion as the nurses and patients scrambled out of the wards to safety. Thunder broke from the sky, while torrential rain now poured in through the hole at the side of the building, soaking the floors and the exposed beds and equipment. Ichigo squeezed past the incoming crowd towards the gaping hole, through which now one can see the streets outside the hospital. Finally, he saw a familiar face among the crowd and pulled the person towards him.

"Takada, what happened?"

The other doctor blinked through his wet hair plastered across his face, looking lost as if he did not know what to do. "I don't know… there was an explosion, then—"

"Takada, listen to me," Ichigo shook the other man violently by the shoulders. "Snap out of it."

Takada continued staring at him with the panic-stricken expression on his face.

"I don't know what the senior doctors are doing right now, but we have to take control. Get the nurses to stop running away and help the immobilized patients out of the building. We don't know how long it will hold."

The other doctor looked horrified by Ichigo's suggestion. "You can do this, Takada. Go now!"

Takada seemed to pluck up courage as Ichigo spoke. Finally, he gave Ichigo a nod before going off to gather all the hospital staff he could. At that moment, Ichigo heard a loud eerie wail, confirming his initial suspicions about the cause of the explosion.

Through the gaping hole at the side of the building, a three-storey tall Hollow was preparing to launch itself again against the building.

Ichigo was gripped with crippling panic. But he had to get these people out immediately. There was a flash of lightning, which struck the Hollow but the monster remained unscathed. Ichigo knew that the Hollow would attack again any minute.

Thankfully, he saw that Takada had lived up to his promise and was now ushering all the patients and staff down the emergency stairs. The immobilized patients were all being quickly transported down to the ground floor via the only remaining functional lift. Running towards his friend, Ichigo asked, "Is everyone out?"

"I think so, we checked every ward! Where are you going, Ichigo?"

"Protect them with your life, Takada!" Ichigo shouted back, he was now running towards where the Hollow was. "I'm going to check if anyone's left behind!"

Takada opened his mouth in protest, but there were too many patients who needed his assistance. Ichigo stared at the Hollow which towered in front of him. The Hollow was relatively bigger than most others he had encountered in the past, but Ichigo knew that were he in shinigami form, even with his powers degenerating over the decade, he would be able to defeat the monster in front of him in a minute. However, he reminded himself with frustration that he had no means right now to switch to his shinigami form. In fact, he had not quite changed into form for almost a decade now.

The Hollow was huge but it seemed stupid as well; there was a long lapse of time in between its attacks, which gave Ichigo some time to plan his attacks. But still, Ichigo was starting to really panic. Where were the shinigami? He was sure there was at least one patrolling shinigami in Kagamino, because Ichigo was certain the Hollows he heard around the city all these years did not disappear by themselves. As Ichigo searched the wards for any signs of life, his body shivered from the cold of his now completely drenched white coat, and he could not help but feel frustrated once again by his lack of power.

Then suddenly, he heard the Hollow give a guttural howl. Turning around, Ichigo saw that the Hollow was now advancing to attack, and he caught sight of its intended target.

Near the edge of the hole at the side of the building stood Hidemi, clutching her water-logged teddy bear and standing rooted to the spot, her gaze transfixed in horror at the towering monster above her.

"Hidemi!"

It all happened too fast. One moment, Ichigo was running, his feet making loud squelching sounds as he darted towards the girl, who could not find it in herself to command her legs to move as the Hollow's mouth approached her at alarming speed. The next moment, Ichigo's left shoulder screamed in pain; he was face down on the floor, his right arm pinning the girl down. Seeing the crimson liquid spurting out of his left shoulder, Hidemi let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Shut up, brat!" Ichigo cursed as he stood up, scooping Hidemi up with him. He had managed to shatter a part of the Hollow's mask by attempting to do a Chad, but in the process his left shoulder turned out a mangled lump of flesh. The Hollow now howled in agony and was preparing itself once again to launch its next attack. Ichigo looked around desperately for a solution to fend off the impending attack; oh how he wished at that moment that he could switch back to his shinigami form.

All of a sudden, an excruciating pain shot through his thigh. Ichigo looked down and saw that besides his left shoulder and arm, the Hollow's teeth had also shredded through his left thigh, which was now bleeding profusely, blood mingling with salty rain as it flowed down his limb. He fell sideways on the floor, writhing in pain. Above him, Hidemi wailed uncontrollably.

"Listen, Hidemi! You've got to run away now!" But the girl gave no indication of wanting to leave him alone. Ichigo grabbed the girl close to his chest. The Hollow was now coming closer. Ichigo wondered if they would die right then and there, this horrible death of getting eaten up by a Hollow, in this pathetic manner in which he could not defend them. Looking at the frightened girl, Ichigo knew that even if he was to be eaten up by a Hollow, he could not let Hidemi suffer the same fate.

With much difficulty and agony, Ichigo hoisted himself up, half-kneeling with Hidemi behind his back, used his body as a last barrier and watched in resignation as the Hollow's huge teeth advanced closer to him…

Then it was over.

There was a clean horizontal gash across the Hollow's mask, causing the Hollow to recoil in pain and give a loud howl. _How—?_

Ichigo's question was answered by the swift motion of a kimono-clad figure, which seemed to glide through the air. The shinigami jumped off the edge of the gaping hole towards the monster, and sliced a gleaming sword down the Hollow's colossal head. Finally, it was over in seconds and the Hollow disappeared into reishi.

The shinigami set her foot down on the floor beside Ichigo. Through half-lidded vision obscured by the unrelenting downpour of rain, Ichigo saw what seemed like a wooden badge on the shinigami's right armband. Even though he was rapidly losing consciousness, his eyes going out of focus, he was certain from the soothing presence of her reiatsu that it was her… No, he was not imagining this time.

"R-ru..ki-a…"

His last vision was that of the black-haired shinigami turning her head slightly back towards him before disappearing into the darkness, then everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 10**

"Oh, stop crying, will you, Yuzu!"

Ichigo opened his eyes slowly, his pupils readjusting themselves to the bright lights overhead. His body felt like a lump of lead, and there was a dull throbbing in his head. "I'm, Karin, but…" he heard his younger sister's weeping voice somewhere to his left.

"Look, Yuzu! Ichi-nii's awake!"

Ichigo turned his head to his right, and he was immediately greeted his other sister's smiling face. "Are you all right, Ichi-nii?" Karin asked happily, while Ichigo saw that to his left her twin gave a loud strangled sob and threw her arms around him.

"I'm okay, Yuzu, Karin," Ichigo reassured them, patting a sobbing Yuzu's head gently. Yuzu released her hold on her brother and dabbed her tear-streaked face sheepishly. Scrutinising his surroundings, Ichigo realized he was in a hospital ward, causing the events of his last memory came flooding back to him.

"The hospital! The patients, Hidemi—"

His first impulse was to get up from the bed, which he immediately regretted as he experienced physical agony like he never had before, the whole left side of his body protesting at the abrupt motion. He let escape a yelp of pain and a few choice swear words before he could hold back his tongue. Karin motioned him back to his bed admonishingly.

"Your patients are fine, Ichi-nii."

"But—"

"You stay put, Onii-chan. You're injured and in no favourable position to do anything anyway," Yuzu told him off sternly. Ichigo lay back on his bed defeatedly, the threatening looks on his younger sisters' faces told him there was no point arguing. But he remembered Hidemi, the girl who was with him when the Hollow attacked.

"There was a girl, Hidemi with me. Is she all right?"

At that instant, two familiar figures entered his room, the relief and gratitude etched on their faces answering his question. A crying Fujiyama-san grabbed Ichigo's right hand and planted a sloppy kiss on it, the gesture tainting his cheeks crimson.

"Oh, Kurosaki-sensei! You truly are our daughter's saviour! We owe our Hidemi's life to you!" the older woman wailed, tears of gratitude falling in quick succession down her face. Ichigo looked around at his sisters for help, but Karin simply looked amused while Yuzu seemed bewildered by the events.

"_Ano_… Fujiyama-san, it was nothing…"

"Nothing? You are our hero, Kurosaki-sensei!"

Ichigo looked helplessly at the man standing behind his wife. The balding man gave Ichigo a look of gratitude. "Fujiyama-san, is Hidemi all right?"

The man nodded quietly, but he added, "Hidemi was unscathed, thanks to you. But she keeps insisting that a dark-haired lady in kimono saved her life, how absurd is that? I'm afraid my daughter might have been traumatized by the event…"

The female Fujiyama gave another loud wail. Karin regarded her brother suspiciously, but Ichigo looked away. So, he had been right after all. He had not been imagining things. Hidemi saw her too – Ichigo barely had time to be surprised about the girl's ability to sense spirits – thus he had definitely not imagined her either. But there remained questions in his mind.

Karin opened her mouth to ask Ichigo a question; he knew very well what the question was. But before she could speak, a doctor entered the room.

"Visiting hours are over, everyone out."

"Oyaji!"

Kurosaki Isshin stared back blankly at his son's half-smiling, half-scowling face. Upon hearing Ichigo's reaction and realizing that the dark-haired man in a pristine white coat was the father of their daughter's savior, the Fujiyamas profusely expressed their gratitude at having borne "such a wonderful son!" to which Isshin responded in his usual eccentric manner, giggling in a manner found highly disturbing by his son, as he said "indeed, where would my idiotic son be without his father!"

The edge of Ichigo's lips twitched in disgust as he held back his urge to throw a punch to his old man's face right there and then in front of the Fujiyamas. Beside him, Karin rolled her eyes and scoffed, while Yuzu laughed nervously at their father's behavior.

Finally, the Fujiyamas were dealt with, and after they left Ichigo found himself for the first time in a few months alone with his whole family in the same room. The jovial, almost comical expression on his father's face melted into a serious one as he checked through Ichigo's patient profile folder.

"Oyaji, why are you doing the rounds here?"

Isshin scribbled something on the folder, then replied without looking up at his son, "Most of the patients from Kagamino had been sent over here at Karakura General Hospital for treatment. It's overflowing with patients here now; they would need all the help they can get. The more critical patients had been sent to neighbouring town hospitals in the prefecture."

The older man finally closed the folder shut and turned to his own daughters. "Yuzu, Karin, help me bring your brother safely back to our house. Someone else needs this bed badly."

Ichigo got up in protest. "Back home? I'm not going back home, Oyaji! I'm staying here to help—"

"To help out? In your condition?" Isshin asked him, with a look that rarely ever grazed the older man's features, the kind that parents use to tell their children there is no further discussion on the matter. "You'll be more of a hindrance than help here."

"But still, you said it yourself, Karakura is understaffed!"

Isshin ignored his son's objections and gave instructions to his daughters to make sure their brother got home, even if they had to do it by force. Finally, the older Kurosaki turned to regard Ichigo again. "Perhaps next time you will learn not to play the hero when you obviously don't have the power." And with that, Isshin disappeared into the hospital corridors.

_Don't have the power…? How did he…?_

Before he could contemplate further the loaded words his father spoke, Karin broke through his thoughts.

"Ichi-nii, time to go."

* * *

Ichigo looked out of the window. To his right, handsome houses and neatly-pruned trees whizzed past like a movie film as the car drove through the streets of Karakura. "Ichi-nii, how's your leg doing?" came a feminine voice from in front of the driver's seat.

To be quite honest, Ichigo's injured leg which was hoisted up on the back seat was now numb from lack of blood circulation, but he decided not to be too honest because he was getting quite tired with his sisters fussing over every of his need. "I'm all right over here," he lied, pulling down the car window and placing his uninjured arm on the ledge, enjoying the feeling of the wind against his face.

His sisters seemed to have developed a habit of ignoring his responses to their questions of concern, for Yuzu replied cheerfully, "It's okay, Ichi-nii, we'll be there soon!"

Ichigo continued to observe the sights and sounds of his hometown. Of course he knew they were approaching his childhood home. He might not have visited the town in quite a few years, but he would never forget the memories this place held for him. And for that same reason, he had subconsciously avoided living in the town if he could help it, ever since he returned from Soul Society a decade ago.

Soon the familiar buildings of the Karakura High School came into view. Seeing the place again reminded Ichigo of his old classmates like Keigo and Mizuiro. He still had correspondence with the two of them, but as they always say, one can never take back again the wonderful times in school.

The car rounded a bend and finally, Ichigo saw the sign "Kurosaki Clinic" and the quaint house that stood behind it. "Home sweet home!" Karin said as she got off the vehicle to help the injured Ichigo out.

It was a strange feeling, being back in your old home in which you grew up in but no longer inhabit. It was like seeing an old friend, the memories of time spent together came flooding back, which quite often brought back feelings of nostalgia that make one's heart flutter in reminiscence. But along with it came an uncomfortable indescribable strange feeling, like you are stuck in the past but your friend had moved on to the present without you.

Finally, after the twins had helped him with much difficulty from the car to the door, Yuzu opened the door and Ichigo plopped himself unceremoniously on the living room sofa with a huge sigh of relief. "Yuzu, Karin, _arigatou_—"

"Ichi-nii, if you thank us one more time I will poison your dinner," Yuzu said sweetly before disappearing into the kitchen. Ichigo stared after her in shock. "Has someone abducted our Yuzu, Karin?"

To this Karin merely chuckled, saying, "Ah, I think that's Otou-san's crazy genes finally expressing themselves."

Ichigo laughed. Inspecting the house, he realized that not much had changed at all during his almost decade-long absence from it. Hardly any furniture had been rearranged, his father had not had the patience to consider renovation ("why would I want to change the house's design when your mother decided on it?" he exclaimed), everything in the house was exactly how he remembered as when he left for medical school. But his eye focused immediately on the most eye-catching feature of the house which often attracted the attention of visitors first, and he realized this was the only thing that was different from his old memory of the house – the mandatory huge poster of his beautiful mother now showed a post-adolescent Masaki winking at the observer in what Ichigo guessed was a failed attempt at being _sultry_.

When Karin walked back into the living room carrying her brother's old clothes, she found him staring at the offending poster with a look of indignant incredulity and disgust. She had to laugh out loud.

"What the hell is that, Karin?" her brother asked, pointing at the poster.

Karin rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Ichi-nii, Otou-san had been changing that poster every month for a while now. Trust me, that one _isn't_ the worst we've seen."

When Ichigo finally diverted his gaze away from the disturbing picture of his mother to his sister, he found Karin folding a pile of old clothes in front of him. "Sorry, Ichi-nii. You've got to use your old clothes for now. Yasu-chan—" the dark-haired girl turned bright pink at her slip of the tongue, "_Ano_… Sado-kun will be taking your clothes from your apartment today."

Ichigo's lips curved into a small smile. His good friend had been dating Karin for almost six years now. "So, how's _Yasu-chan_ nowadays?"

He thought his sister could not possibly get any redder, but she did. "He's fine," she replied, concentrating intently on the shirt she was folding, which Ichigo noticed she had refolded about three times already. "_Ano_… Ichi-nii… Actually there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now."

Ichigo hoisted his injured left leg onto the sofa and gave a grunt.

"_Ano… eto…_ Ichi-nii, Sado-kun, he… _eto_… He asked me to… _ano_… to marry him…"

Ichigo stared at his sister in surprise. The girl was observing him intently with a nervous expression on her face. Her fingers fiddled nervously on the sleeves of his folded shirt. "_Sou ka_?"

Karin gave a small nod. Ichigo closed his eyes. "And what did you say?"

"I… _ano_… I told him I had to ask Otou-san and you first…"

Ichigo opened his eyes again, this time letting his gaze rest on his mother's fresh young billboard face as he thought about the times when Sado, his _nakama_, had been there for Karin when Ichigo himself could not be there for her. Karin searched the expression on her brother's eyes. She did not think he would take it too badly, she had even reassured Chad of his approval before she decided to inform her brother, but now she was starting to think she might have assumed wrongly, but for what reasons she knew not.

"Can you… live without him, Karin?"

Karin stared bewilderedly at her older brother, not quite getting the meaning behind his question. Did he mean that he was asking her if she could live without Chad, because he did not approve of them getting married?

"_Ano_… I think so, Ichi-nii. But…"

He brother continued to look at something else, seemingly deep in thought. "And what did Oyaji say?"

"He was ecstatic, of course, you know how he gets all jumpy when it comes to Sado-kun."

"_Sou ka_?"

There was a moment of apprehensive silence between the two siblings, and at that time Karin knew then that her older brother would disapprove of it. His reasoning would probably be along the lines of it would be dangerous to be his wife because Sado seemed to invite trouble naturally, or something completely ridiculous like—

"All right then, I see no other reason why you shouldn't marry him."

Karin looked up at her brother in wide-eyed disbelief. "Really? Really, Onii-chan?"

"I can't think of another man who would be more than willing to get bullied by you." Ichigo gave his sister a smirk, which then earned him a big unexpected hug from the girl. "Oi!"

"Yuzu, did you hear that!" Karin shouted to the kitchen. Yuzu emerged from the kitchen beaming, and the two twin sisters shrieked simultaneously in joy and started hugging each other, jumping up and down and doing some weird dance.

Ichigo stared at his two sisters rejoicing as if they were once again ten-year-olds whom Ichigo promised to take to the zoo because their father was busy in the clinic. Catching a glimpse of the offending poster of his mother on the other side of the room, Ichigo was positively sure that he was the only one left in his family who was not insane.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 11**

"Ichi-nii, your clothes are in the closet, all right? Your old books are still in your drawers, I wasn't sure which ones you'd want to keep so I couldn't throw any away…"

Ichigo stared at his old bedroom from where he stood at the threshold of door, examining every corner of the small room. Like the rest of the house, this room had barely changed either, though there was a certain smell that indicated that while the room had been kept clean, it had certainly not been inhabited for years. In the middle lay his bed, where Yuzu was now fussing over his still pinstriped blue bedsheets, and to its left was the closet. In between the closet and the bed stood his desk, above which a memo board hung and still had notes dating back to his high school days pinned to it. Resting on the side of the desk was his old guitar and a baseball bat. Too preoccupied with scrutinizing his old bedroom, he almost did not hear Yuzu asking him to come down for dinner soon as she left the room.

Now standing alone facing his room, a voice from his memory drifted into his head.

_Your small room still looks as small as ever, Ichigo!_

_Stop calling it small, you freeloader! Don't compare it to Byakuya's house!_

Ichigo closed his eyes. This was exactly the reason why he dreaded coming back to this place, although he sometimes truly missed living with his family, even his pain-in-the-ass father. Breathing in deeply and opening his eyes, he trudged on slowly towards the bed, leaning on his crutch to prevent putting pressure on his injured left leg, determinedly ignoring the screaming existence of the closet to his left.

Finally he collapsed into the bed, his back on the soft mattress and staring blankly at the bright lamp overhead. Man, was he so fucking tired. He thought about his father's last statement to him.

_Perhaps next time you will learn not to play the hero when you obviously don't have the power._

Ichigo observed a large fly as it buzzed around the source of light overhead, meanwhile contemplating the meaning of his father's words. _When you obviously don't have the power._ Were those words spoken just like a father concerned and angered by the fact that his own son was willing to risk his life for others recklessly? Or did his father know about…?

Ichigo laughed at the absurdity of it all. His idiotic father, know of the existence of shinigami and Soul Society and his subsequent loss of powers, or rather his forced exile from Soul Society? He could not even imagine it; it was like imagining a humorous Byakuya or a young Yamamoto.

His thoughts were quickly led astray as he noticed the dark purple stains a few centimeters away from the bright lamp overhead. One might wonder how grape juice found its way to such an unusual corner of the room, but Ichigo remembered vividly the story behind that. He also recalled the events of the past few days, more importantly those of the Hollow attack at Kagamino Hospital which left him with an injured left arm and leg.

Ichigo was now fairly certain that the shinigami who defeated the Hollow and in so doing saved his and Hidemi's lives was her. Hidemi saw the raven-haired girl in black kimono too. However, what confused him was the wooden badge armband on her arm, which was one of the last things he saw as his consciousness faded away. Was she a lieutenant now? Seemed like her life had never been better once he was gone from it, Ichigo thought bitterly. Why then was she the one who came to their rescue, when the patrolling officer shinigami could have done it instead? Ichigo hardly thought Soul Society would let its lieutenants carry out mundane trivial tasks like eliminating low-rank Hollows in the living world. Why was she here then, in the living world? Why could she just not leave him alone to live his wretched life in peace?

Ichigo closed his eyes in frustration. He would be lying to himself if he said he was not at all delighted to see her again, despite the briefness of the connection and the hardly favourable circumstances they met in. But it gave him hope that perhaps, just maybe, she had not forgotten him completely.

He half-expected a black butterfly to flit into his room above his face, as it once did almost a lifetime ago.

But nothing happened. The only sound in the room was his slow breathing and the occasional buzz when the fly hovered too close to the light.

Yuzu's voice floating up to his room indicated to him that it was time for dinner.

Attempting in vain to push away images of black hair and kimono, Ichigo slowly got up from his bed and trudged his way down the stairs to join his family for dinner.

* * *

When Ichigo finally arrived at the dining room after much difficulty, he found the rest of his family already seated around the table, his father included. "Oyaji," he greeted his father as he seated himself opposite the twins.

"Ichigo. How's the injuries?"

"_Aa_. I'm better now."

It seemed that in his absence Yuzu's cooking had not changed either, for the scrumptious dishes in front of Ichigo made it one of the most delicious meals he had had for a while. As he tucked in happily into his meal, he heard Karin say, "Ichi-nii thinks it's a great idea I'm marrying Sado-kun, Otou-san."

All of a sudden, Isshin got up from his seat, sending the furniture tumbling backwards onto the floor, and staggered towards the disturbing picture of Masaki, screaming dramatically, "Okaa-san! Our daughter is getting married! I'm going to have a second son!"

It seemed to Ichigo that indeed, nothing much had changed in this house.

It would have been a strange sight to outsiders indeed, seeing that the father was behaving in the most curious fashion while his three grown-up children continued eating, seemingly undisturbed by the peculiarity of it all.

When Isshin finally wiped his tears dry with his pineapple-printed sleeve and resumed his seat at the table, he said, "Well, of course your brother has to say yes. You girls can't possibly wait just because he isn't planning on marrying yet."

"Aren't you going out with Orihime-chan, Onii-chan?" Yuzu asked her brother curiously.

Ichigo brushed this off as a false rumour spread by Chizuru who still held aspirations to be Orihime's lifelong partner. He almost jumped out of his skin when his father suddenly stumbled once more towards his mother's poster, weeping uncontrollably. "O Masaki, forgive me! Our son is… Ichigo is… GAY!"

Ichigo's jaw dropped at the absurdity of his father's imagination. Across the table, Karin guffawed at the suggestion while Yuzu looked genuinely concerned. "Are you really… gay, Ichi-nii? It's okay, you know, you can confide in us…"

"The reason why your brother refuses to marry a girl is…"

"Oh shut up, you old pervert!" shouted Ichigo through gritted teeth as his fist met his father's face squarely on the jaw, causing the older Kurosaki to cower exaggeratedly in one corner. Ichigo sighed as he returned to the table.

"Don't be stupid, Yuzu. Ichi-nii doesn't wanna marry because Rukia-nee—"

Karin stopped short her explanation as soon as he had seated himself, looking furtively at her brother across the table. Ichigo's scowl had deepened further.

"_Ano_… Ichi-nii, will you and Rukia-nee patch up soon?"

Yuzu let out a cry as her sister threw her an admonishing glare and kicked her shin underneath the table. "Why did you do that for, Karin?"

Ichigo gave another sigh. Across the table, the twins started a banter while their idiotic father still wept at his mother's disturbing poster, rambling on about how "the Kurosaki line will die with our homosexual son".

As he helped himself to a third helping of Yuzu's cooking, the familiar sounds of the Kurosaki household filling the air, Ichigo found that he was glad to be back home again.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Sun and the Moon**

**Chapter 12**

A black-haired girl stood in front of the house, sweeping the dried fallen leaves to one corner.

_What an idiot._

It was all that the red-haired pimply adolescent could think of, as he stared in annoyance from behind the shoji door at the girl who quietly went about her chore. Acting out of his unrestrained childish impulse, the red-haired boy revealed himself from his hiding place and ran towards the back of the seemingly oblivious girl. He pulled at the girl's black pigtails then pushed her roughly down on the ground.

The girl gazed back at him from the ground with a glossy-eyed bewilderment.

Having not received his intended response from the girl, the boy scowled, grabbed the broom from the girl's grasp and started hitting her head with it. The girl yelped in pain, while the boy merely continued to attack her, laughing menacingly.

"Stop it, Jinta, stop please!" the girl whimpered, attempting to block the blows.

"Take that, you're an idiot, Ururu!" the boy called Jinta spat sadistically.

Suddenly, Jinta felt large hands grab his wrist as he held up the broom above his head for another blow. Looking behind him, he saw towering above him was a tall man with incredibly orange hair.

"Don't you guys _ever _grow up?"

Jinta escaped from the man's grip, then stepped back away from him, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You… you're—"

"Kurosaki-san," spoke the girl called Ururu softly, as she slowly got up and bowed her head towards the orange-haired man. "_Arigatou_. We are glad to see you again."

"Glad?" Jinta looked indignant. "Hey, you, carrot-top—"

Ichigo stopped the boy's attack with his right hand. As the boy continued with all his might to push against Ichigo's hand, Ichigo asked the girl, "Is Urahara-san here?"

Ururu nodded meekly, then shoving the boy out of his way Ichigo walked into the house with the sign saying "Urahara Shouten", opening the shoji door brusquely.

The room which Ichigo entered was exactly the same as he remembered it the last time he had been there. There were rows and rows of wooden shelves, arranged neatly beside one another like the shelves of a modern supermarket, but these wooden shelves held unusual, other-wordly objects. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ichigo spotted a strangely-shaped apparatus which seemed to resemble a miniature guillotine, and on one of the shelves hung a poster advertising for the release of Nekky the Cat, the latest character addition to the Soul Candy product.

"Why, if it isn't Kurosaki-san!" a sing-song voice came from the other end of the room. Ichigo diverted his gaze from the sickeningly cute feline drawing and found himself face-to-face with a man who seemed not much older than himself, and wore the most unusual outfit with green-and-white stripes, complete with similarly-patterned sandal hat and wooden clogs. If he had not known better, Ichigo would find the whole place very weird indeed.

"Urahara-san."

"For what reason do I owe his honour, Kurosaki-san?" said the owner of the shop, his whole face hidden behind a fan, except for his eyes which pierced scrutinizingly at Ichigo. Ichigo cringed at the irritatingly over-polite manner with which the much older man addressed him. He noticed a bowl filled with white liquid at the corner of the room. "Yoruichi-san is here?"

Urahara continued to stare at him with such intensity. With most of his face still hidden behind the mask, he replied, "No, Kurosaki-san. She's out hunting!"

The sing-song manner the older man replied and the giggle which followed after were getting to Ichigo's nerves. But he had to remind himself again why he was here again, after so long.

"Glad you thought to visit us again, Kurosaki-san," Urahara continued. Then his expression darkened. "How may we help you?"

Ichigo returned the intensity of the gaze with which the similarly exiled shinigami regarded him. There was a hidden sparkle in the older man's eyes, Ichigo noticed, as if he had just been let on to a mischievous plan.

Urahara observed the orange-haired man standing in front of him, who seemed to be scrutinizing him in return. The older man had an inkling of what his former student desired, and in light of the events of the previous week, he knew there was no need for him to ask the boy what he really needed. The events which also involved the even more unexpected visit of another shinigami to his shop, albeit that one was neither exiled nor adequate in height…

The orange-haired man was first to break their eye contact, and running his hand on his hair he said gruffly, "I need to change to my shinigami form."

For a moment, Ichigo looked down on his feet; he knew not why he could not bear to look into the eyes of the man who first taught him his zanpakutou's name. Perhaps he had expected the older man to laugh at his absurd request.

Looking up, Ichigo found the man merely staring back at him not laughing, but indeed his eyes held the look as if he could see right into his insides and know exactly what he meant.

Ichigo half-expected the man to ask him for a good reason to help him, but instead all Urahara said was, "All right, Kurosaki-kun," and disappeared through the back door into the other room.

Ichigo stood there confused. Why was it that Urahara did not even ask him a single question? Had he expected Ichigo to approach him for help? As Ichigo stood wondering, there came noises from the other room, sounds of moving boxes and falling products. Finally, when the older shinigami came through the door looking rather disheveled, he held out his hand and a small rectangular object shrouded in a white cloth lay on his palm.

Ichigo stared at the object. He had anticipated a familiar red glove with a skull print, or a wooden badge, or even a Soul Candy dispenser. "This is our latest product, Kurosaki-kun," whispered Urahara, with the exaggerated air of an eager merchant, "This item is the only one of the two we have! Extremely rare!"

_One of the two…?_

Ichigo took the object in his hands. It was unusually heavy for small object. He proceeded to unwrap the cloth when the older man swatted his hands away with his folded fan. "You must not open it now, Kurosaki-san!"

This alarmed Ichigo; the older shinigami was sure up to no good, and this would not be the first time Urahara had sold him a faulty product. Ichigo shoved the unknown object back to the shopkeeper. "Can't you just give me the Soul Candy dispenser? Or how about the glove which Rukia—"

Ichigo stopped mid-sentence as if he had just uttered a forbidden swear word. This did not go unnoticed by the shopkeeper, who now had his face hidden behind the fan again, and whose eyes twinkled with mirth. "—the red glove with a skull on it," Ichigo finished rather lamely, and he could feel his face burning up.

Urahara closed his fan with a flip of the hand, then pushed back the item into Ichigo's hands. "Those objects are useless for your purpose, Kurosaki-san. Did you think Soul Society would make it possible for a marked man to be able to use known items to do exactly what they hoped against?"

The shopkeeper's eyes were so transfixed on him, Ichigo was sure they were boring holes into his skull.

"And yet you are helping me? You do not think I deserve to be punished as Soul Society did?"

Urahara's stare did not waver for a second. "No, I do not."

"How much is this thing?"

"For you, Kurosaki-san, it is free of charge. I cannot, after all, charge for something that is not mine in the first place."

Ichigo stared in bewilderment at the other shinigami in exile. First Urahara agreed to his request without so much a second's hesitation, and now the stingy shopkeeper was selling him a "rare" item for _free_? _"I cannot, after all, charge for something that is not mine in the first place."_ Was he selling Ichigo a stolen item? With much suspicion, he shoved the item back to the shopkeeper, who immediately pushed the item insistently back towards him.

Then almost suddenly, the shopkeeper broke into a huge smile, the tension in the air bursting like a bubble around them. "Well then, if you insist, Kurosaki-san. That will be 5000 yen!" sang Urahara, with a "Ka-ching" sound of an imaginary cash register at the end of the sentence, accompanied by exaggerated actions.

Ichigo glared at the shopkeeper before handing over rather reluctantly the payment. "There is one more thing, Urahara-san."

The shopkeeper tilted his head slightly in bewilderment. Ichigo held out his palm, holding out a round green object.

Urahara regarded the object carefully, then said, "We don't do refunds, Kurosaki-san!"

"I'm not asking for a refund, Urahara-san. I'm returning him to you."

A moment passed in silence between the two men, before Ichigo finished, "Will you give him a spirit-body and send him to Soul Society?"

The shopkeeper merely stared at him unblinkingly; Ichigo was not sure if he overstepped boundaries this time. Then, the older man replied, "Why, of course, Kurosaki-san. If you insist."

With that, Ichigo placed the green spherical object into the shopkeeper's palm, then he turned to leave. When he reached the front yard the two children who greeted him were nowhere to be seen. As he left the compound, Ichigo overheard Urahara's sing-song "_Arigatou_, Kurosaki-san!"

Urahara stared at the front door even minutes after his customer had left. He had barely even noticed the black cat which padded over to the tray of milk waiting for it at the corner of the room, until it finally spoke to him in a low masculine voice. "Are you sure about this, Urahara? The boy suspects something."

"The gears are in motion, Yoruichi-san," replied the shopkeeper in his usual melodious voice, as if not at all disconcerted by the posed question, taking the black cat to his lap and petting its raven coat. His eyes narrowed in gleeful anticipation, while his lips curved into a slight knowing smirk.

"_The gears are in motion."_


End file.
